Banished with a Bloodline
by Uzumaki Shurochka
Summary: Naruto is banished for failing the 'Sasuke Retrieval' mission. Shortly thereafter, he discovers he has a kekkei genkai of extreme rarity. What will be his new dream to pursue with this new power? Pairings undecided, semi-powerful/gray/bloodline Naruto.
1. Banished

Disclaimer: If I thought I owned Naruto, they could lock me away in a mental institution. So I don't think I own Naruto, cause I like being free.

Author's Opening Note: This will be a semi-powerful Naruto with a bloodline fic. He won't be dark (I'm saving that for another fic I'm planning on), but I don't plan on making him too light either. And I haven't decided on any pairings for this fic yet. If any of you dislike any of those things in a fanfic, feel free to back out now. The rest of you, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

* * *

Naruto was trudging out of the hospital, having finally been released after the failed attempt to retrieve Sasuke. The general civilian and shinobi populace, if possible, was treating him worse than ever. As if they knew - _'Which they probably do,'_ thought Naruto - what had just transpired in the hospital as he was being discharged.

Flashback Technique

As he was getting changed into his regular clothes in the changing room, Naruto heard the sound of Tsunade arguing with what sounded like an old man and woman. Curious as to what was being said, Naruto hurried to finish, mentally reminding himself to thank Shizune for grabbing him a clean, untorn jumpsuit from his apartment. _' I'd hate to have to walk around in that bloody and torn one Kakashi brought me here in. Even the hospital gown would be more comfortable than that.'_ Closing up his jacket, he leaned his ear against the door to better eavesdrop on the conversation.

"How could the council do this without my approval! They didn't even give it to me to veto before putting it to petition for the populace- and there was no week-long wait to give everyone the chance to vote... They can't do this!" Tsunade spoke with heated restraint.

'_Strange... When baa-chan is angry she usually either yells it for the world to hear or talks in that 'so cold hell would freeze from the chill' voice. She must really not want any random person to hear whatever they're talking about.'_ He didn't realize that Tsunade might not want _him_ to hear the conversation, either.

"We're sorry Tsunade-sama, but while Naruto and Jiraiya went out to get you to become Hokage, Danzo managed to get some small laws passed to give the council more power. In the absence of a Hokage, there was no one to veto those laws before they could pass; this is the result of one of those laws passing. We came to tell you so you could... break the news to him more gently, before the council calls him in to tell him to his face or sends a _messenger_ to _inform_ him by simply throwing him out of the village gates," came the voice of an old woman Naruto had heard before, but couldn't quite put a name to.

'_She sounds like that old lady that I sometimes saw with ojijisan... Wait, 'throwing him out of the village gates' ? Someone's getting banished by the council _without_ baa-chan's approval? I've got a bad feeling I know the unlucky guy...'_ Naruto's expression saddened; he wasn't an idiot about how the vast majority of Konoha's ruling council loathed the very air he breathed. Naruto quickly stepped out calmly, drawing their eyes to him.

Tsunade practically burst into tears at the look of defeated acceptance Naruto pointed at her. Homura and Koharu also visibly became more distressed at the sight of a defeated Naruto, though not to the point of tears. Seeing this, Naruto knew it was as he suspected - _he_ was the one being banished.

"Why now?" Not even Naruto recognized his own voice for a moment.

"The failure of the mission - one of the new laws allowed the _council_ to decide the punishment given to _individual_ shinobi for failing a mission. If they first get the approval of more than half the village civilians and shinobi, they could do so without consulting the Hokage, but only if the punishment were banishment or community service. Those who feel you are the contained rather than the container claim you let the Uchiha go to weaken the village. Danzo _informed_ those who _were_ neutral about the topic that you used a sizable amount of the Kyuubi's chakra during your fight with the Uchiha, claiming that the seal must be weakening and that is was only a matter of time until the Kyuubi could either corrupt or control you. There are still a good number of us who consider you as the Yondaime wished and trust in the Shinigami's seal to hold, but apparently there isn't enough of us to stop this; certainly not enough of us on the council," the old man spoke, sounding worn down.

Flashback Technique, KAI!

After that, they had told him why - other than for emotional support - they had chosen to come and tell him before the council could do it. Once the council officially informed him of his banishment, he would have _an hour_ to leave the village. Doing it this way, he had time to seal up or pack his belongings and prepare himself for a long trip, so that he could use the hour after the council informed him to let his friends know he was leaving the village.

After he escaped Tsunade's 'embrace of death', Koharu had handed him a dozen empty storage scrolls to use in his packing and two in-use storage scrolls. Koharu explained that one of the scrolls was some stuff to help him get by on his own at first, while he said the other one had a time-lock seal on it that he would be able to break after he was sixteen and was from the Yondaime.

The two elders then left, saying they would delay the council calling him to give him more time to 'take care of what matters.' Naruto managed to pack most of his stuff while on autopilot.

'_What will I do? Where will I go? What if they send hunter-nin after me once I'm outside the village walls? Crap, that would be just like the council to do. What to do?'_ Naruto stood as if dazed at this point, trying to figure things out.

He knew that being banished meant that he would no longer legally be a part of Konoha. So while they couldn't consider him a missing-nin and send hunter-nin after him, the laws of Konoha would no longer protect him outside its walls. Not from any ninja who might 'just so happen' to cross paths with him while on a 'mission from the council.'

'_Shit! There goes ojiji-san's law to keep the truth about the Kyuubi and the seal secret! Now even my friends will hate me... maybe I should leave before the council summons me, to get a head start. Since the elders have already informed me of my banishment, I can just leave a letter saying that they told me and that I left peaceably like they asked. That way the council can't charge me as a missing-nin for leaving before they banished me.'_

Sitting down on the floor and picking up a piece of scrap paper he was going to leave behind, Naruto began to write hastily.

An hour later

Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko were not happy campers.

They were standing outside of an apartment, banging on the door. They had already checked everywhere else in Konoha for the gaki who they were _ordered_ to escort to the council room.

"I don't care if the gaki is mourning the loss of his teammate or his mission's failure has him moping. I'm busting down the door if he doesn't answer it in the next thirty seconds!" Anko yelled, seething.

Half a minute later, Ibiki and Anko were looking at a dirty but empty apartment, the door laying busted on its floor. Quickly, Ibiki looked at the paper with the address that their current 'target' lived at on it, and after quickly comparing it with the number on the door on the floor, said, "Well, it _is_ the right room."

"Then where the hell is he? Better yet, where the hell is all his stuff?" Anko was fuming as they looked through the empty apartment. _'Did the gaki move and tell no one? Then again, I can't blame him for it if he did...'_

"I don't know, but-" Ibiki cut off as he noticed what appeared to be a note sitting on the kitchen countertop. Anko apparently noticed it too, as she picked it up and began reading quickly. Then her eyes bugged out for a second and she was out the door rushing towards the Hokage tower, Ibiki right behind her and wondering _'What got into her? And why does she look even more pissed than usual?'_

Between Konoha and the Valley of the End

Naruto was running along the same path he had not one week ago, mainly because he figured this was the last way they would expect him to go.

He couldn't go to Suna or Wave, because those were the first places they'd check.

He was worried about heading for Iwa, since he _does_ resemble the Yondaime and their hatred for anything reminiscent of the man was known throughout the shinobi world.

He wouldn't head to Kiri, because he remembered Haku talking about the bloodline purges that cost him his family and his chance at a happy life.

He _hated_ the Mizukage with a passion for that.

'_That leaves Grass, Ame, Kumo, Waterfall, Snow, and a few other small independent countries and islands. Seeing as I killed Aoi, and he was an Ame Jounin, that country is probably out. Maybe Kumo. They've been on shaky terms with Konoha since the 'Hyuuga Abduction Incident' anyway, so they won't care that I'm on the run from Konoha... But since Grass is closer right now, I'll go ahead and see what's there and make my decision based upon that. If Oto is in Grass instead of beyond it, I'll be better off elsewhere.'_ With that thought Naruto jumped down into the large clearing ahead, gazing forward on the spires of bone that littered what was once a small, grass-covered flatland in the middle of a dense forest.

Noticing a reddish upper torso with bones sticking out of it's shoulders and back and a large bone spear on one arm, Naruto moved in for a look after he noticed that there was no breathing motion coming from the body. _'Kimimaro. I remember now what it felt like. To have no purpose. I'll search out a new purpose in this world, but I'll remember to not let someone like Orochimaru _dictate_ or _be_ my purpose. Even if you didn't mean to, you taught me that much.'_ As Naruto gazed upwards into Kimimaro's lifeless eyes, he felt something strange in his mind and his chakra pool.

At first, it felt like they were stretching outward, through his eyes and towards Kimimaro's corpse. Before he could seriously consider what was causing the feeling, there was a sudden pull and yank on his mind and chakra pool, followed by immense pain as it felt like they were both torn in two halves and one half of each blasted out of his body from his eyes - and towards Kimimaro's body...

Back in Konoha

Tsunade had just sat back from finishing up her last stack of paperwork on her desk.

**BOOM**

The doors to the Hokage office burst open and Anko stormed in waving a small piece of paper with writing on it. "Hokage-sama! What is the meaning of this?" Slapping said paper onto the Hokage's desk, she glared at Tsunade.

Ibiki chose that moment to finally make it to the office, panting at having chased Anko all the way there.

Tsunade picked up the note and read it. Her hands' grip tightened, her eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows formed a crease between them.

Looking up she saw Anko pacing furiously, grumbling about 'damn council bastards' and the like, while Ibiki looked on with an eyebrow raised to show his curiosity. Mulling over her options, Tsunade decided to go for the direct, honest approach.

"Yes, the council banished Naruto."

Ibiki looked shocked, while Anko looked ready to explode at her, Hokage or not.

"No, I couldn't stop it."

At this she received a skeptical look from both people in her office.

"I thought the Hokage's approval was needed for any punishment of that severity," Ibiki said, closing the doors, then leaning against them with his arms crossed.

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Well unfortunately for us, between sensei's death and my appointing as Godaime, the council passed a few laws to give them more power in certain... situations."

Anko and Ibiki were silent, waiting for more information. Although Anko was much more tense now. _'Not that I could blame her,'_ thought Tsunade, _'next to Naruto, Anko is the second most unjustly hated shinobi among our ranks by the biased fools of the council.'_

"The new laws allow them to assign _individual_ punishments for shinobi who fail their missions, _and_ if they get the approval of more than half the village civilians and shinobi first, they can bypass any need for the Hokage, but only if the punishment is either community service or banishment."

Anko had a sharp intake of breath at this, and Ibiki winced in silent sympathy for her.

"What I want you two to do is go out and 'continue looking' for Naruto for another hour to buy him some more time. At the end of the hour, return here. The three of us will then proceed to the council chambers, where I will... _inform_ them that I told Naruto myself and he has already departed from the village." Tsunade had a smirk on her face when she said this. Ibiki and Anko _almost_ felt sorry for the council members she would 'inform' of her view on the matter.

Ibiki and Anko left the Hokage's office quietly, both planning to 'ask about Naruto's whereabouts' at their own favorite hangouts. The bar and the dango stand, respectively.

Naruto's Mindscape

"Uuugh..."

"**It's about time you awakened, kid. Maybe now we can figure out why the hell **_**he**_** is **_**in here**_** with you."**

At the sound of _that_ voice, Naruto's eyes shot open. He'd only ever heard it once before, after ero-sennin shoved him off that cliff, but he doubted anyone could forget this voice after hearing it once. "Kyuubi..."

"**What the hell were you doing that you pulled a full two tails of my chakra and pushed them out in a single second. I didn't even know you ningen had jutsu that could use that much chakra in one go..."**

"...what hit me? All I remember was..."

"Naruto-san." The presence of the third voice was so unexpected, Naruto almost pulled his neck from the speed he turned around to face it's source. When he saw the speaker, his jaw practically left his face.

Pointing a finger at the source of his shock, Naruto stammered out, "Y-y-y-you! You're d-dead! H-how can you be here?!"

Staring apathetically at him from a short distance, was Kimimaro. Sans curse seal.

(A.N.: This is originally where I planned to end the chapter, but I decided to continue on from here. Kudos to anyone who has already guessed exactly what kekkei genkai I just gave Naruto. Those who haven't are about to find out. And yes, I know I majorly changed the original operation of the bloodline (as far as I understand).)

"I know no more than you, Naruto-san."

"but...you...dead...me...huh?" Naruto's face was contorted in a manner that reminded one of a donkey. That along with his words made it clear that he was confused to the point that even his _thoughts_ weren't coherent.

"**Maybe I should come down there and look more closely at this. Something's off about your eyes, kid."**

Naruto turned back to look at the fox, but before he could even ask what it was talking about, it's massive silhouette simply vanished. Near panicking at the thought that it wasn't in the cage anymore, Naruto was even more stunned by what happened next.

"**Hey, kid. I'm down here."**

Even though the voice was still obviously Kyuubi's, it also held a certain femininity to it that Naruto wasn't expecting at all. Looking down, Naruto's eyes widened even further.

Wearing a kimono covered with a design of red, white, and black roses on thorny vines was a woman of 5'11" with, from what Naruto could see, a toned, lean body with a generous bust size. Her hair was black, straight, and went to the middle of her back and her eyes were a reddish-orange with slits for pupils. On her face were six whisker marks just like his.

If it weren't for the fact that she had fox ears on top of her head, nine bushy fox tails behind her, and she was on the other side of the bars, Naruto would have just assumed that he had a really attractive visitor to his mind.

'_Kyuubi is a _woman_!? And a really beautiful one at that...'_

Kyuubi's own eyes widened even further as she could now clearly see _what_ was off about Naruto's eyes. A single black ring around the pupil told her all she needed to know. A small, vulpine grin made it's way onto her face as she thought, _**'By Kami! I didn't even think any of that bloodline still existed anymore. This changes so much, and much more makes sense now.'**_

"**Well that explains it."**

"..." Naruto was still trying to wrap his head around all the surprises that had been in it recently.

"**What? So I'm a woman. You thought the strongest of the biju was actually a man, didn't you?"**

"Huh?" Naruto shook his head as if to clear it, then got a focused look on it as if thinking hard, "...what explains what?"

"**Everything."** Seeing him about to burst into a bunch of headache-rendering questions, Kyuubi decided to beat him to the punch by answering them.

"**Your eyes are the mark of your bloodline activating - the Rin'neggan - and that explains the chakra drain we felt, the pain that caused you to pass out, and what Kimimaro is doing here in your mindscape when he's supposed to be dead and passed on. The last human I knew of having this was the Six Paths Sage. I honestly never expected to see that Kami- and Shinigami-blessed gift again."**

"Kami and Shinigami blessed _my_ kekkei genkai? I _have_ a kekkei genkai? What does it do and how does it explain _this_?" He gestured to Kimimaro's presence in his mindscape to expand on what he meant.

"**Kami and Shinigami did bless this kekkei genkai. How else would it be able to pull the minds and souls of the dead out of heaven and hell?"**

Naruto almost lost his jaw again at that.

"**There is several aspects to this bloodline. First off, you will gain several bodies, from the corpses of powerful warriors, to fight for you. The pull on my chakra must have been to erase Kimimaro's curse seal while keeping the stage two form and the benefits without the downsides. Your chakra that was pulled from you revitalized Kimimaro's chakra pools, healed all physical and biological damage from his body, and sealed away his body for you to call out when you need it, so it can rest when you don't."**

"**Second, each body will have an independent chakra pool of it's own that will be the same size as your own pool **_**at peak**_**. This chakra pool refills like a regular body's, with food and rest, but also refills without those things when it's sealed within you."**

"**Thirdly, each body you get will specialize in one form of jutsu and one chakra type, usually an elemental type. Kimimaro I would say would be your kenjutsu body, and would be your earth chakra type. What this means is that Kimimaro's body can control earth type chakra, even if it isn't his own, by focusing his eyes on it and willing it to do what he wants."**

"**Fourth of all, all your bodies will share a single mind, yours. You will experience all the senses of your other bodies at once and will control them all with a single mind. This is one of the strengths and weaknesses of the bloodline. Because of this aspect, when one of your bodies-even your own- is killed, all you have to do to revive it is pump enough chakra from any of your bodies into it to repair the damage. Since your mind is shared by all your bodies, even if your original body is killed, the other bodies still carry your mind, so you can still revive it."**

'_Wouldn't my brain overload from the sensory input?'_

"**Fifthly, it brings back the soul and mind that originally owned the body and cages it within your mindscape so you can learn to use the body to its fullest from them. If they refuse to teach you, you'll absorb information from their mind as you sleep, but otherwise they can teach you while you're awake by instructing through mind-talking. The mind and soul are only released to go back to their place of judgment when you have mastered the use of their body, but if you die with them still in your mindscape, they'll simply cease to exist."**

"**Last of all, until you master a body, it will only be slightly better than you in it's chosen area of expertise. The bodies are better than yours because they are either better built or they have been better trained in that particular specialty. Call it muscle memory or chakra coil memory. But you can't use them that well because you don't know how to consciously do so."**

Konoha

Guilt. That was the main feeling she had right now. Well, that and worthlessness. She had failed both of them, each in their own way. Sasuke, she wasn't good enough to convince him to stay or strong enough to force him to stay. Once again he left her in the dust. But worse, was Naruto. She made him make that promise, knowing he was the only one good enough, strong enough to get Sasuke back. She made him make that promise, knowing it crushed his heart to do so. That promise, because of it, he held back for her sake, and she had lost them both- her first love and the guy she had begun to see as a big brother.

"**What good do you think your moping around is gonna do?"** spoke her inner voice.

"What else can I do?" Sakura was alone in her room, and she spoke quietly, so she knew no one but her inner persona could hear her.

"**Get off your ass, train yourself into the ground, and go drag Sasuke's ass back here. Then, when they're applauding us as a hero, tell them you want Naruto back as your reward. It's the perfect plan, CHA!"**

In the silence that followed, Sakura began to think about what her inner self had said. She knew her only chance of beating Sasuke was getting training equal to being the apprentice of a Sannin, but she figured Tsunade was too busy being Hokage to help her and she'd sooner go to the Hebi-teme himself than ask the super pervert for personal _anything_. The only thing she could think of was becoming a wandering-nin. They weren't limited to a single area's specialties, they had all the privacy needed for intense training in the wilds, and they got toughened up by having to live without the amenities of a hidden village.

"**And we could run into Naruto! Together, nothing could stop us from bringing Sasuke back! Plus if he helps, the council won't have any choice but to see him as a hero equal to me for bringing Sasuke back! They'll have to let him back in, CHA!"**

Figuring that this was her best option, Sakura started packing her things for a long-term mission. Unnoticed by her, Kakashi stood on a tree branch, having stopped by to check up on his last remaining student. Seeing her pack up her things, he quickly left to inform the Hokage of what he thought was taking place.

Outside Sakura's house several minutes later

Sakura stepped out of her family's house to find a pair of ANBU waiting for her. "Haruno Sakura, please follow us to the Hokage's office, immediately. Any resistance will be met with extreme force."

"I have no problem coming with you." This was met with a questioning 'hm?' from one of the ANBU. "I was going to have to talk with her anyway. This way saves me from waiting or making an appointment."

The ANBU shrugged, then one laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder and shunshined to the Hokage's office doors. "Go ahead and enter. She's waiting for you."

Sakura stepped into the office to face an angry looking Tsunade. She jumped when the door slammed behind her, revealing a frowning Kakashi who leveled her with a stern gaze. She briefly wondered what was wrong before realizing that they could see her stuffed full pack. She quickly took a proper formal stance before the Hokage and began to speak.

"Hokage-sama, I request permission to take an indefinite leave for the purpose of training outside the village."

Sakura wished she had a camera. The look of shocked surprise on Tsunade's face was a once in a lifetime view for most people.

"Haruno Sakura, your request is declined."

"But, Hokage-sama-"

Tsunade slammed her hands on her desk, silencing Sakura's protests. "I will _not_ have you chasing willy-nilly after _that_ _Uchiha_!"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT SASUKE!"

Tsunade leveled Sakura with a critical glare as she calmed herself to better make her argument. Editing out anything about her inner voice, Sakura bared the skeleton of her plans to Kakashi and the Godaime.

Naruto's Mindscape

"**- and that's how I can help improve your kekkei genkai. Although I can only do this because you're my host, otherwise Kami and Shinigami would get pretty pissed that I played around with their gift."**

At this point both Kimimaro and Naruto were speechlessly staring at Kyuubi with eyes the size of dinner plates. Kyuubi simply stood with her arms crossed waiting for the reaction she knew would be coming.

Blinking, Naruto breaks out of his dumbfounded state. "Why would you do all that? I mean, what's in it for you, or... what's the catch?"

Putting on a fake hurt expression, Kyuubi asked, **"What makes you think I'm doing this at a cost to you?"**

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. "I _am_ familiar with how bloodlines were made. They were given to humans who either did something on their own that a superior being _favored_, or they had to perform _tasks_ to _repay_ the being who gave them their bloodline. You guys don't do this kind of stuff for _free_."

Kyuubi chuckled for a few seconds, then smiled at Naruto. **"Good, your mind **_**has**_** gotten sharper from this. Yes, I'll be getting something out of this. A little freedom. And, no, I won't be fully free of the seal, because all that would accomplish is pissing Shinigami off. That's not something on my to-do list."**

Naruto squinted into space, a slight frown on his face and his head tilted to the side in thought. "Now that you mention it... my mind does feel like I'm thinking better. Why is that? Did you do something-"

"**No, that's actually a facet of your bloodline, as well as a safeguard Kami placed into it. Your brain is designed for extreme multitasking. I mean, you do have multiple bodies sending constant sensory input into your brain, while at the same time you have to send complex instructions to each individual one of those bodies on how to move it's muscles and mold it's chakra while at the same time interpreting what it's senses are telling you in order to determine what that body should do next. Multiply that by however many bodies you have in addition to your own, and you can see why simply transplanting the eyes into another person won't work."**

"Oh... if my brain is so great, why'd I have so much trouble with focusing it in the academy?"

"**Because you tried focusing like a normal person focuses. Think of your mind as divided into segments. You consciously focused **_**a**_** segment on the lecture, but all the other segments kept doing their own things, distracting you because you weren't controlling them."**

"Oh... then how is having a divided mind a good thing?"

"**Let me give you some examples from your 'moments of genius' that have gotten you called the 'number one most surprising ninja.' During your first fight with Zabuza, when you came up with that plan to free Kakashi, a part of your mind was watching for you to get attacked, a part was watching for Tazuna to get attacked, a part was worrying about your teammates and sensei, a part was thinking about what you had on you, and another part was trying to figure out how to get Sasuke and Kakashi out of their situations. The last part, your conscious mind, put the input from all the separate parts together, allowing you to form that plan, saving both Sasuke and Kakashi. Heck, even your ability with Kage Bunshin has partly to do with this. Even with enough chakra, most ninja can only divide their **_**minds**_** so many times, further limiting the number they can create. Since your mind was **_**made**_** to be divided, however, you can make far more Kage Bunshins. Or even how you figured out the first and last stage of the Rasengan. The first stage, one part of your mind was trying to figure out how to pop the balloon while another part was watching the cat play with one, and the third part was listening to the first two to give you the idea for how to do it. And the final stage, after a week of focusing on nothing but completing the third stage of the Rasengan, you get in a life or death struggle against Orochimaru and Kabuto, where your mind is divided amongst your personal fight with Kabuto, Tsunade's and Shizune's welfare, watching out for any more 'hungry snake' attacks, and figuring out how to hit Kabuto with a Rasengan when you need two hands to hold it steady, and suddenly you figure out how to perform a complete Rasengan? By this point, I was wondering what was up with the repeated odd timing of your flashes of genius, but since I assumed the Rin'neggan was no more, I never would have guessed the true cause."**

"That... when you put it that way, it actually all kinda makes perfect sense. I guess you were right, me having this gift _does_ explain _everything_."

"**I sense we have spoken more than enough. You should awaken now, or else you'll lose the headstart you gave yourself over anyone the council sent after you."**

"Um... yeah. How do I 'wake up' from this?"

"**Like so."** A sudden burst of red chakra flew out of the cage and blew Naruto out of his mindscape. An image of Naruto standing there, looking at Kimimaro, remained in Naruto's mindscape. If Kimimaro or Kyuubi wanted to communicate with Naruto to help train him, this piece of his mind was there to do it with.

Back to the physical plane

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and pushed himself off the ground to look around. The only thing he found off about the clearing was the disappearance of Kimimaro's corpse. Seeing as several hours had passed (he judged from the position of the sun in the sky), Naruto quickly took off in the direction he was last headed - towards Grass.

'_I'll find out more about my bloodline and practice it some there. Better to get out of Hi no Kuni before I get caught by a patrol or one of the council's lackeys.'_

Unknown to Naruto, three Konoha shinobi followed in his footsteps not ten minutes after he left the clearing.

Rice Country

Having made his way to being within sight of a small town in Rice Country, Naruto stopped and went into the woods by the side of the road. Finding a small clearing, Naruto sat in a meditation position, closed his eyes, and prepared to talk to his 'tenants'.

"**Time we got to work, kid."**

'_Alright. So how do I call out Kimimaro's body or use this bloodline?'_

"**Just pour a little chakra into your eyes and repeat after me..."**

Having sensed the use of chakra in the nearby forest, the three Konoha ninja went off the road to the city to investigate it. Right as they were within sight of the small clearing Naruto sat in, they heard him say something.

"First Path of Sacrifice."

There was a large puff of smoke, which cleared to reveal a level two curse seal Kimimaro facing Naruto, his eyes a vibrant blue with one black ring in the iris.

The kunoichi shrieked and the two shinobi gasped, "A demon!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open and both his heads jerked towards the sound of those voices. Naruto and his other body (Kimimaro) were face to face with Jiraiya, Sakura, and Kakashi.

* * *

Author's Endnote: How will they react to this awkward meeting? Will Naruto get the chance to explain what is happening or will his old mentors and friend react to the situation too fast for words to be traded? And what will they think of his location in the country they suspect Orochimaru is in? To find out, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to come out. So please review my work and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism appreciated, compliments welcome, and flames will be either laughed at or ignored.


	2. Found

Disclaimer: I know I don't own it, you know I don't own it, and everyone involved in making it knows I don't own it. So why do I have to tell you this if everyone that matters already knows?

As far as pairings go, this story will definitely NOT be a Naruto x Sakura. Nothing against the pairing - I enjoy reading it sometimes - but in this fic, Sakura will view Naruto as a little/big brother (acts like a little kid when safe, but a protective big brother when in danger), not a love interest. And Naruto will accept that and finally move on. Sasuke x Sakura is also out. Naruto x FemKyuubi or OC are possibilities, as are some of the filler arc girls. Right now, except for the exceptions of NaruSaku or SasuSaku, the pairings are wide open. Oh, and since this is my first fic, it WILL NOT be a harem fic. At the most, Naruto might end up with two women in his life, but that's only if I get a strong enough request from my audience for it.

Also, for those who questioned the whole law involving Naruto's banishment, press 'CTRL + F' and search for 'SIFMA' (yes it's all in capital letters). Then read the conversation from there until you get to the next 'SIFMA' and all those questions of yours should be explained. Or you could just start reading and keep going until you get to that part, your choice.

Last chapter...

Having sensed the use of chakra in the nearby forest, the three Konoha ninja went off the road to the city to investigate it. Right as they were within sight of the small clearing Naruto sat in, they heard him say something.

"First Path of Sacrifice."

There was a large puff of smoke, which cleared to reveal a level two curse seal Kimimaro facing Naruto, his eyes a vibrant blue with one black ring in the iris.

The kunoichi shrieked and the two shinobi gasped, "A demon!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open and both his heads jerked towards the sound of those voices. Naruto and his other body (Kimimaro) were face to face with Jiraiya, Sakura, and Kakashi.

_**Chapter 2**_

For a split second, no one moved. Unfortunately, shinobi don't stay still for very long.

Sakura began trembling, staring at the face of the 'demon' next to Naruto, her arms reflexively curling in front of her to protect herself as she took slow, trembling steps backwards. Kakashi reacted almost the opposite way, headband up and preparing to perform the Raikiri on the demon threatening his former and current students, ready to give up his life if it was necessary to protect his precious people from a demon, like his sensei did.

Jiraiya's reaction was probably the most mild of the three. As he looked between Naruto's eyes and the 'demon's' eyes, rapidly dawning comprehension passed across his features, mixed with some surprise as well.

Naruto found himself in the worst spot he could imagine. Because he had no time to train himself in controlling the second body, or receiving sensory input from it, he couldn't even distinguish between Kimimaro's POV and his own. So it seemed to him as though Kakashi's and Sakura's reactions were pointed at himself. _'Guess they already told my generation about the Kyuubi, if Sakura's reaction is anything to go by. And I thought Kakashi-sensei actually cared about me, but judging from the look on his face - it's like he's waited his whole life to get the opportunity to do this to me... Great. I wouldn't stand a chance of fighting Kakashi normally, and between this feeling of disorientation and my inexperience with fighting with my bloodline, I'll have even less than that.'_ Looking over to Jiraiya, Naruto saw the only sight that held any hope of getting out of this situation alive.

Fortunately, Jiraiya was aware of his companion's actions and reacted before things escalated to the point of no return. His right arm shot in front of Kakashi and blocked him from a straight-on-assault. His left hand found it's way to Sakura's right shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze. When both turned to look at him, he gave a grandfatherly smile, the kind the Sandaime used to be known for, the kind that made you feel like everything was going to be okay. Sakura's fears seemed to ebb away, and Kakashi's desperate aggressiveness calmed.

"Calm down, Kakashi, Sakura. Things aren't what they seem at first glance." A confused look crossed the two's faces at Jiraiya's statement, and as they turned back to face Naruto they took more defensive, less aggressive stances, waiting for Jiraiya's explanation of his strange statement.

Instead of launching the explanation right away, he struck up a conversation with the still and silent Naruto. "So, when did you activate the Rin'neggan, Naruto? And how come you never told me?" The other three looked stunned, two of them wondering _'What's the Rin'neggan?'_ and Naruto thinking _'He knows what the Rin'neggan is by sight of it alone?'_

"It happened on - the way here, so - I couldn't really - tell you - before now. And - how - did you - know what - it was, anyway? - Even _she_ - hadn't seen it in this - world since - the Six - Paths - Sage," Naruto and his other body spoke back and forth, having trouble with distinguishing the separate vocal cords and mouth muscles. Sakura looked confused, but the other two grew alarmed at the implication of Naruto having conversations with the kitsune, and treating it like it was an everyday occurrence.

"Naruto... how long have you been in communication with... _her_?" Jiraiya asked, trying to be subtle about the Kyuubi with the presently unknowing audience.

"Who is this woman you're all talking about? How could she have _seen_ the Six Paths Sage and still be alive right now?" Sakura blurted out, hating being out of the loop and a little freaked by the way the 'demon' and Naruto talked in turns between each other.

Jiraiya and Kakashi stiffened at the thought of breeching that secret with Sakura, while both of Naruto's bodies started to chuckle. When all three looked at him odd, he explained, "I would - have thought - the council revoked - _that_ law the - first chance - they got. - I'm sur-prised she doesn't - already know - about it just - yet. That's - what I find - so funny."

"Don't know about what yet? What law?"

"That - I am - the con-tainer the Yon-daime sealed - the Kyuubi - no Kitsune - into."

_That_ statement prompted an uncomfortable, shocked silence. Followed by Sakura fainting standing up.

"Well, - at least - we can continue - the con-versa-tion without - needing to - hide things - anymore..." Jiraiya and Kakashi sweatdropped at that.

Jiraiya quickly pressed his earlier question, "So when did you start conversing with the Kyuubi?"

"Shortly after - the Rin'neggan - activated... she - seems nicer now - that I - have it..." a puzzled look crossed 'Kimimaro's' face.

"Alright, not to change topics, but what does the Rin'neggan have to do with the current situation?" Kakashi asked, still confused about Naruto's other body.

"The 'demon' body standing next to Naruto isn't a demon at all. The Rin'neggan allows Naruto to take a powerful corpse and turn it into a new body for himself to control, among other abilities. Even if the body used to hold a demon's mind, the body is now fully subservient to Naruto's mind and will. It isn't any more threatening than Naruto himself is, so unless Naruto plans to attack us, the 'demon' body won't do so either."

"... how do - you know even - that much - about the - Rin'neggan? You recognized - it by sight, - and you - mentioned it had - more abilities than - those linked - to the bodies? - She didn't men-tion any-thing like - that..."**?**

"...at the time I started teaching the boy who would become the Yondaime, I had picked up two other students. They were orphans, a boy and a girl. The boy, Nagato, was a distant relative of your father's, and he had the Rin'neggan. Most of what I know about it, I learned from teaching him and researching the Six Paths Sage to help find ways to better train him. Unfortunately, during the war, there were many casualties, and Nagato and the girl were two of them. Despite the fact that Nagato and your father were related, your father never activated the Rin'neggan, so all who knew about it simply assumed he didn't have the genes for it. I guess now I know it was simply a fluke that he never awakened it."

A shock went through Naruto's system, 'Kimimaro' puffed out of existence and his Rin'neggan turned off as the truth of Jiraiya's statement hit him like a ton of bricks. Not that Jiraiya had seen another Rin'neggan user or trained him, but that Jiraiya _knew_ who Naruto's father is or was. Shock gave way to anger in the blink of an eye, and Naruto's fists clenched tight. His face twisted into a scowl and he lowered it so his eyes couldn't be seen through his bangs. "You knew..." he growled out. "...and you never told me."

Jiraiya could feel the sweat roll down his forehead as he realized the monumental screw-up of a slip of the tongue he'd pulled off now. Prior to this occasion, he'd made certain to never, ever mention Naruto's parents as such in anyone's presence. When Naruto had asked him about it, or if he knew where the Yondaime had got him at the last minute like that, he'd even lied to his face and told him he didn't know. Jiraiya realized he had one chance to do damage control on his trust relationship with Naruto right now. And that was by telling him the absolute truth right here and now.

"Naruto... your parents... they were Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, and Uzumaki Kushina, formerly of Whirlpool. Your mother died giving childbirth and your father... you know how he died."

Naruto looked like he won the lotto only to have his puppy get run over. Kakashi looked like somebody had transplanted a dinner plate in place of his 'good' eye. And Sakura, who had begun to come to right before Jiraiya made that statement, fainted again, this time falling down.

The soft 'thump' of Sakura hitting the ground, brought all their attention to her, and Jiraiya quickly made a decision. "We should carry out this conversation somewhere more private. Let's go to the nearby town and take residence up at the inn."

Kakashi shouldered Sakura and headed back to the road, followed by Jiraiya a few seconds later. Naruto stood still, staring at the ground for a minute, then took off after them. _'I have to know more.'_

Inn at the village

Kakashi laid Sakura down on one of the beds in the room he'd be sharing with her, then went to the room for Naruto and Jiraiya, so they could continue the conversation as a group - and so he'd be able to put off answering Sakura's many questions that were sure to come once she woke up.

Once Kakashi was in the room, Jiraiya shut the door and performed that silence and blindness seal, which kept all sounds and sights inside the room in while still letting such from outside in. Naruto was sitting on one bed, and Kakashi and Jiraiya sat on the other bed, facing him.

"So, Naruto... what are you doing in _this _country, anyway? Wave or Suna, I could see, but you headed to the country we suspect Orochimaru keeps his base in. Why is that?" Kakashi questioned.

Naruto's eyes widened a bit at the knowledge that Orochimaru keeping his base in this country was almost certain now, but was quick to answer. "I honestly wasn't certain if Orochimaru's base was here or in the following countries, but I figured if the council sent their dogs after me, this is the last direction they'd expect me to go. I planned to hightail it out of here at the first definite sign that Orochimaru has set up shop here, though. Between his... unnerving obsession with little boys and his equal obsession with kekkei genkai, I wouldn't want to chance him taking any... 'interests' in me." Naruto shuddered at the thought.

"So, what are _you three_ doing out here where you suspect Orochimaru's base is?"

"Well," Jiraiya said, "it like this, see..."

Konoha, Hokage's Office

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure it was wise to send those three out to retrieve the Uchiha?" Shizune asked, looking troubled.

"It has less to do with the Uchiha and more to do with Naruto. Sakura's plan wasn't foolproof, but it's better than sitting around doing nothing. Even if it fails, we'll still have a kunoichi undergoing _real_ training out there, and Jiraiya and Sakura can keep a lookout for Naruto to help him out some. It's a win-win situation. Either Naruto gets back his rights as a Konoha shinobi or they can offer Naruto support and training." Tsunade said across her steepled fingers.

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama."

Unnoticed by either of them, a man wearing an ANBU mask bearing the mark of 'Ne' eavesdropped on the conversation, and went to report it to his master.

Back at the inn...

"So you see, that's the main plan. It was mostly Sakura's idea, but after hearing it, the rest of us jumped on board and refined it."

"Now that we've found Naruto, we can change the backup plan some to account for you not having to look for him, Jiraiya-sama."

"Yeah, we can..."

"...what's this backup plan and how does me being here change it?"

Jiraiya cleared his throat, then said, "In the event that the 'second Sasuke retrieval mission' meets failure, I am to take Sakura as my 'official apprentice' and you as my unofficial apprentice, and then I am to train both of you to be strong enough to take down Sasuke on your own. Kakashi will return to Konoha to give a report on the mission's failure and Sakura's status as my apprentice immediately after the mission fails."

"Ah..." Naruto mumbled. "So. We start out to find Sasuke tomorrow, yeah."

"Yeah, so let's try to get a good night's sleep, gaki."

Kakashi went back to the other room, and sighed when he saw Sakura awake and aware. _'I really doubt I'll be getting a lot of sleep tonight.'_ As soon as he finished this thought, the questioning began.

As Naruto laid down in bed, he realized that amidst the back and forth questions, he'd forgotten all about the questions he _really_ wanted the answers to. _'Dammit! I forgot to ask for more about my parents. I'll have to spend the rest of the mission pestering them with questions to get back at them for distracting me like that! Heheh...'_

TIMESKIP of a few days

All went less than well, as Sasuke was nowhere to be found in the base that they'd searched and Sasame's friend was beyond saving. Naruto hadn't even gotten in any practice with his bloodline, figuring that 'Kimimaro's' former body would definitely freak Sasame out.

Outside Orochimaru's newly ruined lair...

Sakura and Naruto were doing there best to comfort a crying Sasame, while Jiraiya and Kakashi stood off to the side talking quietly.

"Kakashi, I need you to do something for me before you return to Konoha."

"Hm? What for?"

"It'll help in training Naruto's kekkei genkai in a way I cannot easily do alone. And it will help Naruto's kekkei genkai itself. It shouldn't take you too long."

"...alright, then. What is it you need me to do?"

An hour later, Sasame is reunited with the anti-Orochimaru Fuuma clan members, and the four who once called Konoha their home were leaving the village the Fuuma clan was based in. About ten minutes walk out, Jiraiya suddenly stops walking. Everyone else stops and looks back at him.

Jiraiya pulls out a scroll and says, "It's time we got the two of you training." Then he tosses the scroll to Sakura, and says, "That scroll contains exercises to increase your chakra capacity and physical capabilities. Until you can complete all the exercises in that scroll, you won't be ready for personal training of any kind under me, Sakura."

She opens the scroll and looks at it for a minute before looking back up at Jiraiya, pale-faced. "EH!" Jiraiya motions to the woods to the right, and Sakura trudges off into them with her head down to work on the exercises in the scroll.

Once she was out of sight, Jiraiya and Kakashi both look at Naruto, whom is practically jumping out of his skin from containing his excitement for training. Suddenly, Naruto looks at Kakashi like something clicked in his head. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei. Aren't you supposed to be on your way to Konoha to give those reports?"

"Actually... yes. But Jiraiya here asked me to do something to help with your training, a specific task, and I agreed, so I'll be around you for a little longer."

"Hm?" Naruto looked at Jiraiya, who had his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face.

"Naruto," Jiraiya began, "the first part of your training in the Rin'neggan must be to get you accustomed enough to having multiple bodies that you can effectively use them in combat situations. When I used this training with Nagato, we called it 'long distance and multiple places training'. In order to perform this training, we first need you to call out one of your bodies."

"Right!" _'Hey, Kyuubi! How do I do this again?'_

"***sigh* Just push chakra out your eyes and say -"**

"The First Path of Sacrifice!"

When the poof of smoke cleared, the level two curse seal form of Kimimaro's was once again revealed to the two shinobi.

"So what - DO I DO - now?" Naruto and 'Kimimaro' asked.

"You probably notice you are having a difficult time telling which body is giving you which set of sensory input, right?" Naruto just nodded his head to Jiraiya's question. "This is because you are receiving the exact same information through two set of senses that are a mere two feet apart, creating a disagreement in what they perceive as one view is just slightly askew of the other, messing with your mind. The best way to deal with this is to move one body to a completely different area, then get used to using two bodies with one mind. Once your mind has gotten acquainted with this exercise, it can recognize each body's unique signature, and it will be possible to have two of your bodies next to each other without the input messing up your coordination. In other words, it's easier to start with your bodies separated and then work towards each other."

"...um, okay..."

"What your second body and Kakashi will be doing is going back with these," here Jiraiya held up four scrolls with seals written all over them, "and picking up the corpses of those other members of the Oto Four to use later for more bodies. While you get used to normal ninja movement with your unusual second body (it has a tail) with Kakashi, I'll be training the main you right here in various things as well as talking about what all I'll be teaching you while you're with me. That should help you adjust to using two bodies simultaneously much faster."

"Ah, I think - I get it, but..." Naruto attempted to move 'Kimimaro's' foot, but wound up stumbling forward himself. "How am I - SUPPOSED TO - even follow - Kakashi away from - here when I can't even - coordinate my move-ments well enough - to walk the - right body?"

Kakashi took a few steps forward and placed one hand on 'Kimimaro', the other forming a basic one handed seal. "You don't. I take care of that." With a swirl of leaves Kakashi had shunshined 'Kimimaro' and himself closer to the border between Rice and Fire Country, leaving behind a momentarily disoriented Naruto and a smiling Jiraiya.

Jiraiya pats Naruto on the shoulder and gestures to a bench by the side of the road. "Let's sit down and talk about what you'll be learning under me in the foreseeable future." Naruto slowly made his way to the bench and sat down almost gingerly, looking at Jiraiya the whole while. Jiraiya sat next to him, relaxing on the bench before he looked at Naruto seriously. "We'll be going over a lot, so to make it easier for you to remember I'll split it into two simple categories - training to help you with your Rin'neggan, and training that has pretty much nothing to do with your Rin'neggan. For the Rin'neggan, I'll be teaching you the proper way to use those eyes, chakra control, elemental chakra training, taijutsu, strategy, and various ninjutsu to help out with the main weakness of the Rin'neggan for you."

"Wait... what weakness... is that?" Naruto was beginning to adjust to having two separate bodies now that they weren't in constant conflict with each other.

"While using the secondary body powers of the Rin'neggan, it is dangerous for you to use the Kage Bunshin or any variation thereof."

"WHAT! WHY?"

"While the body is out, the section of the mind that that body is connected to is separated from the rest of your mind by a sort of 'bubble' that allows you to discern sensory input and directions given to that body from your others. When you perform Kage Bunshin and its variations, it divides up your mind randomly. If it's random division cuts into that bubble, your connection with that body will be permanently lost. It's the only way for you to permanently kill one of your secondary bodies."

"But... but... most of my skills and strategies in a fight revolve around my use of Kage Bunshin and the mass version. I can't even use the Rasengan without a Kage Bunshin there to hold it together for me. Alls I have left is henge, kawamiri, and low-level chakra control exercises."

"Which is exactly why we'll be working on that weakness by having you learn better taijutsu and more ninjutsu. I can tell you that other than the variations of Kage Bunshin, other clone jutsus, like the elemental clones, can still be used since they don't divide your mind, but rather make a temporary quick copy of it, which doesn't burst any of the 'bubbles' for your other bodies' mind segments."

"Whew... that's kind of a relief. So... what else will I be training in?" Naruto said. _'If I can learn a different clone technique, I can still use numbers to overwhelm my opponents.'_

"Well, as far as training that doesn't have to do with the Rin'neggan directly, I'll be working with you on your stealth, espionage skills, dispelling genjutsu, using the Kage Bunshin to the _full_ potential it was made for, some Toad Sage arts if we have the time, politics, economics, debate logic, manners and customs, and your 'people skills'."

Naruto had furrowed eyebrows and a frown on his face at the end of Jiraiya's list. "Not to sound ungrateful, but why do I need... any help or training with those things towards the end? And I thought we just agreed my Kage Bunshin... were a danger to use."

Jiraiya frowned and began waving a finger in the air, as though scolding a child. "Listen more carefully to what I say and think about things before you assume anything. Kage Bunshin have uses other than those you are familiar with and it's only dangerous to use them while you have any secondary bodies out. As for everything from politics onward, consider those skills that are part of everyday life for wandering nins like yourself, and they are also a necessary part of your espionage and infiltration skills. What good would having an excellent false background story and a flawless disguise do if you knew nothing about the politics of the area you claim to be from? How can you pretend to run a business if you have no idea how to do it for real; or how would you even know which kind of business to claim you're looking to set up if you have no idea about the economics of the supply and demand balance in the area for various goods and services? How will you pretend to belong to high society if your manners are atrocious and you follow none of the customs because you don't know them? How can you expect your cover to not be blown if you resolve all your arguments with fists instead of words?"

Naruto found himself speechless, unsure of what to say as his sensei lectured him about the importance of those things he had questioned the value of learning.

Jiraiya sighed before continuing, "even when not on an infiltration mission, wandering nin need to have skills and knowledge in all those areas in order to keep themselves alive."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, head tilted to the side and eyes wide open, and asked, "What do you mean, sensei? How could not knowing those things kill me?"

Jiraiya got a thoughtful frown on his face and crossed his arms over his chest in a serious manner. "Many different ways. Say you didn't consider the political environment of the country you were fleeing into before you went there. If you had fled to Water Country or Earth Country, you could very easily be dead right now. Due to all the civil wars and the bloodline purge, people in Water Country barely trust the person across the street in their house, so you can guess how well they trust outsiders, not to mention outsiders with kekkei genkai. To them wandering nin and missing nin are equally as threatening and equally as hated. Don't get me started on how Iwa would react to a wandering nin who was practically the spitting image of the Yondaime Hokage. As for economics, you need to know how to make money if you plan on anything other than becoming a completely self-sufficient hermit who lives only off the land and what he makes with his own two hands or becoming a petty thief like those Fuuma clan members were acting like before I set them straight. If you do get clients, being able to be mannerly, observing the proper customs, and having good people skills are necessary to maintain a good reputation with clients so they might recommend you to their associates or friends. And solving all your problems with your fists first and your brain second is a good way to wind up in bingo books, and then any bounty hunter or ninja looking for a quick buck will look to kill you at the first opportunity. You don't exactly have a village you can run to if you get in a tough spot, now do you?"

Naruto bowed his head. "No... I don't." Suddenly his head jerked up, "Eh! She isn't there?!"

Jiraiya blinked at Naruto's sudden random statement, confused for the moment.

With Kakashi and 'Kimimaro'

After looking for about ten minutes among the chopped up trees, Kakashi decided to speed things up manually. Performing the necessary handseals and using some of his blood, Kakashi summoned his nin-dogs. Naruto looked over to see what the puff of smoke was about..

"Oy, Kakashi. What is it you summoned us for this time?" Pakkun asked.

"There should be the body of a young woman in this general area, but me and Naruto can't find her anywhere. Can you help me out, please?" Kakashi asked, knowing being polite to his summons helped.

The summoned dogs spread out and quickly began searching for any trace of a young woman's scent in the area. After a minute one of the dogs signaled and Kakashi, Naruto and Pakkun all moved over to the dog. Pakkun sniffed the ground at that spot and nodded to the dogs that had gathered round. "Kakashi, a young women was laying in this spot for about five days straight before someone came and moved her two days ago. And Kakashi, whoever this lady is was still alive when they moved her."

Kakashi and Naruto stiffened at the news, it was an unplanned for twist in what they expected. Kakashi asked, "can you track the scent?"

"Yeah, it hasn't rained since then, so unless they tried to lose their scent there'll be no problem with that."

"Good. Everyone but Pakkun will follow the scent and signal when you get within 100 yards of the target, but don't allow anyone to see you. Pakkun will come with me and Naruto as he can hear the signal from farther away than either of us." Pakkun hopped on Kakashi's shoulder and the rest of the dogs took off after the scent.

As Naruto and Kakashi jumped off into the trees and headed towards the valley where Sakon's and Ukon's corpses were supposed to be, Pakkun took notice of the strange lack of orange and the cloaked form traveling with them in plain sight, as Naruto had borrowed a cloak to hide his unusual features as well as some kunai and shuriken from Kakashi right after the shunshin. "So where's Naruto and who's Mr. Mysterious on our left here?"

"Believe it or not, Pakkun, that guy is Naruto." Kakashi could feel the disbelieving look Pakkun directed at him. "It's part of a bloodline he activated a few days ago. Gives him secondary bodies that differ completely from the original."

"Hmm..." Pakkun appeared to be thinking.

With Jiraiya and Naruto

After Naruto had explained his little outburst - which prompted Jiraiya to have pleasant recollections of his late student doing similar things - Jiraiya had decided to have Naruto perform a multi-function exercise. Naruto would learn about politics... while performing squats... sticking to the bottom of a branch and holding leaves in various places around his body with chakra.

Yeah. Naruto thinks Jiraiya's a slave driver, too, but he loves the training and attention more than he hates the near impossibility of the task. That and he thrives on challenges.

Kakashi and 'Kimimaro'

Having arrived at the spot where Kankuro dumped the corpses out of his puppet, Naruto and Kakashi were relieved and not-so-relieved to find the bodies of Sakon and Ukon laying there. The unsettling part was the smell. (Remember - it's been over a week and it rained heavily the day they were deposited here; a pair of soggy rotting corpses would absolutely reek after a week) Despite being a nin-dog who could handle the smell of death, Pakkun still had a strong preference to avoid the smell if it had time to fester. "I'll let you two handle this. I'll regroup with you when you're done." Pakkun leapt off of Kakashi and ran to someplace upwind of the decay.

Trying not to tear up at the smell, Kakashi looked over at Naruto, and seeing that it was taking everything he had to not heave, decided to take some pity on him. Quickly looking over the scrolls Jiraiya had given them, Kakashi noticed one was labeled 'double body'. He quickly sealed the attached bodies of the brothers into the preservation storage scroll, the performed a low level Fuuton jutsu to blow the stench downwind completely.

Naruto was still dry heaving, but this time it was because of the writhing mass of maggots where the brothers' bodies were just minutes before. The sealing only took certain things in. Bacteria, viruses, insects in any form and parasites were all filtered out by the seals on the scrolls. It helped the preservation seals do their job. But it also left behind a nasty mess to see.

Jiraiya and Naruto

After Naruto was past the dry heaving fit he had had - which had earned a merciful break from Jiraiya when he was able to explain it between heaves - Jiraiya made Naruto return to what they were doing before.

SIFMA

"So, where should we start with the lesson on politics?"

"Not that I'd want it to happen, but how about explaining the whole deal with me being banished when no one else on my team was."

"Alright, but this issue is complex, so prepare yourself for a very long conversation."

Naruto simply nodded as he continued his upside-down squats with chakra control exercise.

"First of all, the law we're talking about gave the council the power to single out shinobi on a group mission that failed for individual or separate punishments if the right conditions were met. There were three major conditions to be met in order for the council to have this power. First, the shinobi must have been involved in a failed mission of C-rank or greater. Second, the majority of the council, the majority of the shinobi population, and the majority of the civilian population must each agree, via three separate voting pools, that the council has the right to punish that specific shinobi in a specific way. Third, the punishment must either be banishment or public service without pay - basically being required to do so many hours of missions one rank lower than you're qualified for before you're allowed to go back to regular paid missions."

"You were involved in the failed 'Sasuke retrieval mission', which was higher than a C-rank, and your punishment was banishment, so the first and third conditions were quite obviously met. I'm guessing you're wondering about the second condition, though."

Naruto nodded his head, though he had a good idea of the cause.

"Okay. First, the council's vote. We both know exactly why and how much the majority of them hate you, Naruto, so I shouldn't have to explain how that voting pool got passed."

Naruto sighed and nodded, figuring it was going to be more of the same for the other two as well.

"Second, the civilian's vote. When people are faced with a horrible and/or personally traumatizing tragedy, it is human nature to have a need for someone or something to vent the pain, fear, and anger on. When the rightful person or thing to blame isn't within their power to vent upon, they find what they recognize as the next best thing - usually called a scapegoat. All the civilians who lived in Konoha before, during, and after the Kyuubi's attack would have needed such a scapegoat, and you were the most convenient. So it shouldn't be hard to figure out why the majority of the civilians voted to have you banished."

Naruto's squats had begun to slow down, not from exhaustion but from a growing pain in his soul. The matter of fact way his sensei spoke about this was like he was saying it was fated to be like this - and Naruto was starting to believe it himself.

"Third, the shinobi vote. This was where things got iffy and people had to be convinced to make it go through. Shinobi, at least the good ones, are trained to separate their emotional and logical responses to a situation and choose the logical one in such occasions as this vote. So the majority of them wouldn't have allowed their pain or anger to cloud their judgment to vote to banish a perfectly good shinobi. Which was why Danzo had to step in before the vote and 'inform' them of certain facts. Danzo took the mission reports for the Sasuke retrieval mission and convinced those logical shinobi that the seal must be weakening if that much of Kyuubi's chakra was leaking out into you. Even though they still didn't see you as Kyuubi incarnate, with Danzo giving them his version of the facts they would be forced to see you as a primed explosive tag that would release the Kyuubi on those around you when you went off. What's the most logical thing to do with an explosive tag that cannot be destroyed or disarmed that is in your home, near your precious people?"

"Get it as far away as possible." Naruto said. _'I don't know whether to feel sad that they saw me that way, or happy that they didn't throw me out because of blind hatred.'_ Naruto's head suddenly snapped up, and he lost a few leaves in a moment of surprising realization. "Wait a second! How the hell did Danzo get his hands on the mission report when only the Hokage is supposed to have access to those? And how did he know about me using the Kyuubi's chakra? I didn't have a chance to give my official report before the council handed down my sentence and no other than Sasuke was there when I used it. I really doubt Sasuke decided to mail Konoha a letter telling them I used the red chakra."

Jiraiya sighed. "Remember that you were accused of letting Sasuke go intentionally, which would be insubordination by willing sabotage of the primary objective of the mission. In order to determine the accuracy of the charge, the council would receive access to three things in relation to it - hard evidence, of which there was none; an eyewitness, and given that the only two were either a missing nin or the accused, they chose to not bother hearing it; and the mission reports regarding the mission. Logically, since Danzo was on the council, and the council had access to the mission reports, Danzo had access to the mission reports. Also, while it is true that no Konoha-loyal shinobi _saw_ you using the Kyuubi's chakra, Kakashi did sense it as he approached the Valley of the End, and he would have included this fact in his unbiased report."

Naruto didn't know how to take this information. He had been banished most likely because of something Kakashi-sensei had written in his part of the mission report. He understood why his sensei had done it and he knew Kakashi never would have expected it to have these consequences for his student, but it still hurt some inside. "So... why just me? Was it just the Kyuubi, or...?"

"While it is true that you were singled out by the council because of the Kyuubi, there are two reasons they could give those who accused them of bigotry. First, assuming that the council actually votes them as being at fault for the failed mission, the odds that the civilian and shinobi populace would decide the same are extremely slim. Everyone else on that team was an heir or prodigy of an important clan in Konoha, so they all had social status with the civilians and strategic importance to the shinobi, without the drawbacks of the 'Kyuubi factor'. Second, when a mission has multiple parts to it, and everyone except one person succeeds at doing their part of the mission, any mission failure will be blamed on the one who failed their part. Throughout the retrieval mission, your teammates' parts in the mission gradually became 'keep this Sound Four/Five member from interfering in the primary mission.' If you look at it that way, everyone but you succeeded in their part of the mission, even if Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee had help from the Suna Siblings to do so. The only one who failed his part of the mission, technically, was you. So the failure of the mission could easily be pinned on you."

SIFMA

Kakashi and 'Kimimaro'

Having just sealed the huge guy from the crater Choji made (Jirobo) and having sealed the six armed guy already (Kidomaru), Naruto and Kakashi were ready to backtrack to Tayuya's former location to wait for the dogs to signal they'd locate her when Pakkun's ears perked up a bit.

Without seeing it Kakashi still knew it happened. "Which direction and how far are they signaling from, Pakkun?"

After a moment Pakkun pointed about 40 degrees to the left of their current heading and said, "about 2 kilometers in that direction."

Kakashi and Naruto took off that way at a fast pace.

Five minutes later...

As Kakashi and Naruto drop into the spot where the summon dogs are waiting for them, a hail of kunai come out of seemingly nowhere and dispel the summon dogs on the ground.

"Pakkun. You're not a fighter, so get out of here. I'll resummon you some time after this is over."

As the cloud of dispelled summons dissipated, three Konoha ANBU with the mark of 'Ne' on their masks became visible. "Stranger-san, it would be in your best interest to leave here now. Our business is with Kakashi-san," the one on the left spoke.

"I apologize, but I can't abandon my escort any more than he can abandon me," Naruto said.

"Then I apologize that you had to become a victim of circumstance. Kakashi-san, under orders of Danzo we are to eliminate yourself, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto at the first opportunity upon which any or all of you are separated from Jiraiya-san. For becoming a security threat to Konoha and aiding in the empowerment of said threat is the reason for your sentence." The three ROOT ANBU charge at Kakashi and Naruto, one straight on and one flanking each side.

'_Crap! I'm nowhere near ready for combat with this body yet!'_

"_Did you forget we're here to offer some help?"_ the voice of Kimimaro sounded out in Naruto's head.

Naruto and Jiraiya

"Um... ero-sennin, I have to take a time out on training here. Kakashi and I just got attacked by ROOT, and I kinda need my full attention available for this fight to help Kakashi."

"Alright. Sit at the base of the tree and meditate. I'll go see how Sakura's coming along with her conditioning."

Kakashi and 'Kimimaro'

Practically snapping the down side of his headband up and flying through the handseals faster than Naruto could blink while charging towards the ANBU who was going straight down the middle at them, Kakashi activated his Chidori and plowed it through the ROOT ANBU's head in the same instant. All three living spectators to the event give pause as they are stunned by the suddenness of it, giving Kakashi the second needed to yank his arm out of the corpses' head and jump back close to his starting position.

"Kakashi, I didn't know you could form a chidori that fast."

"Normally I can't. I had to use twice as much chakra as a normal chidori to pull that off, but it was worth it."

"_Kakashi-san is correct, Naruto-san. Instead of one three-on-two fight, you now have two one-to-one fights."_

Turning back to the ANBU that was charging his side, Naruto catches the tail end of the handseals the ANBU was forming while Naruto was distracted. _'CRAP!'_

"Doton: Doryu Dango no Jutsu!" the ANBU called out.

"_**Naruto! Focus your eyes on the brownish energy forming in front of him. You feel that pressure in your mind?"**_

'_Yeah.'_

"_**When that thing comes up, push against the pressure in your head with all your might!"**_

As a dragon began to form out of the ground in front of the ANBU, Naruto started pushing as hard as he could. Seeing nothing happening as the dragon reared it's head back to hurl the boulders bulging in its neck at him, Naruto pushed with everything he had. At the last second, the dragon jerked around and fired two boulders at the ANBU that was behind it. Being so surprised at the reversal of his own ninjutsu, he had no way to dodge either boulder, only to guard out of reflex. There was a slight crunching noise and a small grunt, but the ANBU stood mostly unshaken.

'_What the heck? I just burned off like half my chakra to do that and he shrugs it off!'_

"_Not all is as it appears, Naruto-san. You may not notice but he has very slightly shifted his weight to the right and he isn't as quick in the movements of his left hand. Most likely he has some hairline fractures in his left limbs and possibly some bruising of his ribs. He is slightly injured, as well as being off-balance from the reversal of his ninjutsu. Given the stance he is taking and the way he has drawn kunai in both hands, it would appear that he is afraid of using any further ninjutsu and is going for an up close fight. This is fortunate for us."_

'_And how exactly is going up close and personal with ANBU a good thing for us?'_ Naruto thought, drawing a kunai in each of his hands and holding them in a reverse grip.

"_One, he won't be using ninjutsu against us with both his hands occupied and that's our major weakness right now. Two, he is injured and assuming that with our power we're a ninjutsu expert who would be weak against close range fighters. Three, my body is your kenjutsu body so it does slightly better at close armed combat than your own would. Four, your chakra control is good enough that you should be able to form some weak bone masks under the skin with my body's bloodline, giving you a defensive advantage."_

While Kimimaro was talking to Naruto, Naruto was having a fight for his life. He barely dodged several critical strikes, and he knew if it weren't for this guy's injuries and his kenjutsu body being the one fighting, he would already be dead. _' Care to... inform me... on how to pull off this... bone mask thing?'_

"_Push chakra inside the bones the mask will form from, then pull the chakra out in the shape and place the bone mask will take. The denser and better controlled the chakra, the denser the bone mask and the faster it will form."_

'_Thanks.'_ Deciding to try it out, Naruto formed a bone mask in the spaces between his ribs. Unfortunately, this reduced the flexibility of his torso and required a bit of his focus getting taken off the fight. Fortunately for Naruto, the ANBU was taking this opportunity to take a shot at Naruto's heart and the kunai in his right hand partially penetrated the bone mask before getting stuck on it.

Seeing the opportunity, Naruto stabbed the ANBU's right bicep out of reflex, disabling that limb completely. With one of his opponent's arms useless and the other injured by the reversed ninjutsu earlier, Naruto found himself with a bit more breathing room than he had before. Yet he still berated himself. _'Damnit! All I've done so far was get lucky! I'm really going to have to train like nobody's business when this is through if I ever want to have a chance against Akatsuki.'_

Naruto was quick to press his advantage, pressing with all his strength and speed in his attack on his enemy now that he didn't have to worry about counterattacks from the other hand. The ANBU meanwhile was struggling to hold his own, the hairline fracture he had from the boulder crashing into his arm earlier was beginning to spread and get worse from absorbing the impact of the blows he was blocking. The only thing keeping the fracture together at this point was the thousand miniature chakra strings he had silently formed in his arm to reinforce the bones and hold them in place together, just like he had done with his leg, but he was starting to tire from both physical and chakra exhaustion.

Everything added up in their fight fairly quickly, and one slice that the ANBU failed to both block and dodge later, Naruto had a fair amount of blood on his arm with splatter on his face and the ANBU lay on the ground bleeding out through his jugular and choking on his own blood. Naruto stood stunned as blood dripped from his arm and kunai, the sound of Kakashi and his opponent clashing echoing in the clearing behind him. Hearing Kakashi grunt in exertion, Naruto turned around and saw him pressing kunai to kunai with his opponent, the two trying to overpower each other.

The two saw a blur moving in from the corner of their visions and, neither letting up on the pressure, they both turned their heads to see a half dozen shuriken coming in on the ROOT ANBU. The instant Kakashi felt his opponent let up on the pressure, he dropped his kunai and grabbed the ANBU by the wrists. Using his sharingan to predict the ANBU's movements, he held his ground for the second it took the shuriken to hit their target. With the ROOT ANBU disabled by his injuries, Kakashi released his wrists, disarmed him of his kunai, and plunged it into the ANBU's heart in a single smooth motion.

Panting, Kakashi quickly pulled his headband back over his sharingan and sat down. The three ROOT operatives sent to kill him and both his former students were dead, so he felt pretty safe for the moment despite the nagging voice in the back of his head that he was forgetting something important. Looking over to his bloody former student, he recognized the look on his face. "What's wrong, Naruto? I know that wasn't exactly your first kill..."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi, trying to find the words to express his emotions at the moment. "I-I... it wasn't the same as the other times. The Ame jounin and that tyrant in Snow Country... when I hit them with the Rasengan they flew away and died out of sight, without any mess like this. This time... he was laying there, his blood on me, struggling to live... I saw him get weaker and weaker... until he just stopped."

Kakashi bowed his head at that. "Yeah. There's always a difference between knowing you killed someone... and actually seeing the life leave him. But remember, if you didn't kill him, he would have killed that body, helped his partner kill me, and then he would have regrouped and gone after you and Sakura. Which do you prefer, getting bloody and knowing Sakura's safer for it, or staying clean and always worrying for her safety?"

Naruto sat next to Kakashi, facing the opposite way to watch for trouble while they recuperated from the fight. They could wait to continue tracking down Tayuya until they were in better condition. Besides, they'd have a hard time finding her without Kakashi's summons and he needed to recover enough chakra to summon them and still be able to put up a decent fight if they ran into more trouble.

Unseen by the two in the clearing, the last ROOT ANBU of the four man squad left the area to report to Danzo about this strange man with unusual powers that was helping the little group they were sent to exterminate. He felt no guilt for sending his squad to its death to test out the unknown male, because like they say: in the shinobi world, information can mean more than many lives.

Naruto and Jiraiya

Naruto was telling Jiraiya all the details of what had happened before, during, and after the fight while Jiraiya was writing it in a report he'd send by summon to Tsunade so she knew what was going on behind her back.

Author's Endnote: What will Kakashi and 'Kimimaro' find when they get to the place where Tayuya is at? What will Danzo do with the new information he receives from the surviving ROOT that encountered Kakashi and 'Kimimaro'? What will Tsunade do with the information Jiraiya is sending her, or will it even get there? What will Jiraiya do for Naruto and Sakura's training next, especially now that they have to actively watch for trouble from ROOT now? To find out, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to come out. So please review my work and let me know what you think. Also, that was my very first fight scene, so any reviews or constructive criticism regarding it would be especially appreciated. Constructive criticism appreciated, compliments welcome, and flames will be either laughed at or ignored.

As far as suggestions from my reviewers go: Pein is in Akatsuki, so Naruto has a relative in the Akatsuki, but a distant relative at that; while I can't say Naruto won't help Konoha, I can say that it won't be out of the goodness of his heart; Inner Sakura talking with Kyuubi would be fairly humorous to read imho, but I can't think of a way to make it plausible in this story without contorting this story for that single scene, so I'll reserve the suggestion for an omake or another fic; for the body suggestions, Zabuza is out (you'll see why later), and Raiga isn't likely, I actually have 10/11 bodies picked out and am considering more, and Haku is one; Jiraiya definitely will train Naruto more than he did in canon.

In regards to the other abilities the Rin'neggan is supposed to have that I didn't have Kyuubi mention, yes Naruto will gain those abilities. Right now he has the middle ring (compared to Pein's eyes) which gives him the abilities regarding the secondary bodies. When he gains the outer ring on his original body's eyes, he'll have the ability to manipulate all chakra elements with his original body. When he gains the inner ring on his original body's eyes, he'll gain the ability to master techniques in very little/ almost no time. Also, he'll gain a fourth ring, a ring of blue inside his pupil; when he gains it, he'll have access to the improvements Kyuubi made for his bloodline. All these rings, however, are gained by hard work. In order to gain the regular three rings, Naruto will have to master six different bodies' type of jutsu and six different bodies' elemental chakra control. When Naruto masters a certain body's jutsu type, that body will have the inner ring appear in it's eyes; when he masters a certain body's elemental chakra control, that body will have the outer ring appear in it's eyes. As such, all of Naruto's bodies may have different rings in their eyes, the middle ring they start out with being the only common factor. The fourth ring will only appear in Naruto's original body's eyes, but I'll keep what it does and what it requires to activate it a secret for now.


	3. Saving

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Go ahead and rub it in a little harder, why don't ya?

My apologies for the long wait for this update to my work, but I lost internet when I was only halfway done with writing this chapter and got it back just today. I finished writing this on 4-25-09, and it is my largest chapter to date (23,000+ words, not including author's notes at beginning and end), no questions asked, so I hope the wait was worth it for all of you, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter I worked on hard.

Last Chapter

Naruto sat next to Kakashi, facing the opposite way to watch for trouble while they recuperated from the fight. They could wait to continue tracking down Tayuya until they were in better condition. Besides, they'd have a hard time finding her without Kakashi's summons and he needed to recover enough chakra to summon them and still be able to put up a decent fight if they ran into more trouble.

Unseen by the two in the clearing, the last ROOT ANBU of the four man squad left the area to report to Danzo about this strange man with unusual powers that was helping the little group they were sent to exterminate. He felt no guilt for sending his squad to its death to test out the unknown male, because like they say: in the shinobi world, information can mean more than many lives.

Naruto and Jiraiya

Naruto was telling Jiraiya all the details of what had happened before, during, and after the fight while Jiraiya was writing it in a report he'd send by summon to Tsunade so she knew what was going on behind her back.

Chapter 3

Two days prior...

Tayuya didn't know whether to bless her stars or curse the heavens - though given her preference for the latter she'd probably be doing it either way. She'd survived the wind mistress's attack and the aftermath, but one of the logs had pinned and crushed her legs. In such dire straits, she knew using chakra would do her no good. Even if she summoned, her minions would be no help as she couldn't control them without her flute. They'd just stand there and stare at her as she cursed at them for being so useless.

Anything that came close enough for her to grab, she would grab it, kill it, and eat it raw. She'd always said she'd never eat bugs like they taught you to in survival courses, but she wasn't above that any more. She was about to let another string of curses out to the heavens when a pair of shadows fell over her, and she looked behind her to see them.

Present Time

"And how's our little redhead doing today?" the thirty-something lady of the house Tayuya was staying in asked.

"Fine, Mrs. Alarte." It took a concentrated effort on Tayuya's part to not swear up a storm these past two days, but this couple had taken her in and nursed her somewhat back to health, though there was little they could do for her legs. _'No use getting your hopes up for walking, girl. Orochimaru-teme will recover from his body switch within the next week, and then he'll realize he can still sense your seal. Then he sends his special forces out and it's bye-bye Tayuya.'_

"Me and my husband are going out to get some things from a nearby town, but our son will be staying here to take care of you until we get back. You'll be okay with that, right, Tayuya-chan?"

Tayuya mentally grit her teeth, both at being called _-chan_ and at the thought of spending a full day or two alone with the ten year old who kept trying, poorly, to hit on her, but forced a sunny smile and said, "yep, no problems here!"

As she heard the door shut as they left Tayuya mentally braced herself for the tribulation she knew was quick in coming. Sure enough, not ten seconds later she heard it. "Hey, baby, believe in love at first sight? If not, I can always walk by a second time."

'_I wonder how I can strangle him and make it look like an accidental death without the use of my legs...'_

With Kakashi and 'Kimimaro'

As Tayuya was contemplating the murder (and possible castration) of the young man, Kakashi was gathering his chakra for another summoning. Fortunately for the two of them, they had found out that Kimimaro kept a small number of soldier pills on his person at all times, and apparently they had stuck with his body all this time. Using these had sped up the replenishing of both Kakashi's and Naruto's chakra pools, and now they were ready to begin the search for the redhead's location again.

With a poof of smoke, Pakkun and the rest of the dog summons appeared again, ready to pick up where they left off. Pakkun hopped up onto Kakashi's shoulder, and the three set off after the nin-dog summons. Less than a hundred feet from their starting point, however, the dogs had dived into the bushes, Kakashi grabbing Naruto and following right after. Above their heads in the trees, a man and a woman in black cloaks with _blue_ clouds stopped.

"Why are we going to the checkpoint to meet up with Sasori-sama, anyway? We haven't gotten the information to give to him yet." The man sounded almost whiny as he questioned his companion.

"To let him know that she'll be ready for interrogation soon. Sasori-sama wants that information on Orochimaru's forces and plans badly, so he'll be coming to extract the information from her himself. Our job is to make certain she's healthy enough to last long enough under his methods to give him some useful information, and to tell him when she'll be ready for the interrogation. Now hurry it up, or do you want me to explain that _you're_ the reason he was kept waiting." With those words the two were off and running once more, leaving Kakashi and Naruto to their thoughts.

'_Sasori? Wasn't he a part of that group Jiraiya-sama warned me was after Naruto - and those cloaks... those two were definitely agents of the Akatsuki.'_

"Naruto." Kakashi whispered, drawing Naruto's attention to him. "We have to get going. Those two work for the same organization as Itachi and Kisame." Naruto's eyes went wide. "We can't let them know of your current whereabouts. I'm afraid we'll have to drop the search for this girl, Kami save her soul."

After a moment of thought, Naruto shook his head no, "Kakashi-sensei, first off, how will they recognize me? This isn't my original body and looks nothing like me. Second, anything that helps our enemy, hurts us. We can't let those people get whatever information it is they want from this girl. I say we go in there, tell her what's going on if she doesn't already know, and offer to rescue her. If she accepts, we grab her and hightail it out of here before those two get back. If she refuses... well, we can at least make her death quick and painless, rather than let them torture her to death. Either way we save her from torture, they don't get the information, and Sasori will probably be pissed at those two for failing to deliver what they told him they had when he arrives later on expecting it."

Kakashi sighed. He didn't like it, but he had to agree with Naruto's logic. "Alright, but I want you to inform Jiraiya of this little kink in our plans. We'd better hurry. I want as much distance between us and those two as possible."

With Jiraiya and Naruto

"And that's how Kage Bunshin no Jutsu will help with mastering your bloodline's traits."

"Hey Ero-sennin... there's something Kakashi-sensei wants me to tell you..." Naruto interrupts Jiraiya.

Konoha, Secret ROOT Forces Base

The ROOT ANBU lay dead, his report on Danzo's table as he pondered what to do about this unknown figure throwing a kunai into the gears of his plans.

'_To recruit, to kill, or to extort into doing my work. No matter which I choose, I need more information on this unexpected variable tossed into my plans.'_ Clearing his throat, Danzo said, "Prepare a squad for a long-term, unsupported, high-priority information gathering mission. They have 48 hours before they'll be briefed, maximum. And get someone to dispose of the remains of this failure."

With a silent nod of his head, the ROOT ANBU in the corner disappeared from the room to complete his master's orders.

Between Jiraiya's Location and Konoha

Gamakachi was booking it, trying to get to Konoha as fast as possible, the scroll Jiraiya had given to him tucked into his mouth and wrapped in his tongue. He had been given special instructions to stay out of sight of any and all Konoha shinobi above genin rank with the exception of the Hokage herself and Shizune, until he had delivered the scroll to her.

Small Village On the Fire/Rice Border

As the two of them approached the village, Kakashi began to wonder about the location. _'This village was abandoned over ten years ago. With no ground traffic, they probably littered the ground with traps, so it'll be best to stick to the roofs.'_

"Naruto, guys, we're taking to the roofs in the village, and everyone be on the lookout for traps. I don't want any leftover guards knowing we're here until it's too late for them to stop us."

Naruto nodded, and most of the nin-dogs made an affirmative sound or gesture.

"We're close now, Kakashi. One hundred feet forward and twenty feet to the right, second story room. That's where she's at..." Pakkun spoke up.

"Alright. Naruto, I'll go in. If I need a hand, I'll flare my chakra and Pakkun here will tell you about it. You'll be the element of surprise if it comes down to that, okay?"

Naruto nodded, though with a frown this time.

Inside the House

"For the last time, you're just not my type, okay, kid?" Kakashi looked up at the ceiling, wondering what the heck was going on upstairs to produce that statement.

A young voice answered her statement, "C'mon Tayuya-chan, you just know we'd be perfect together." Kakashi swore at the bottom of the stairs that he could hear this 'Tayuya's' teeth grinding together.

'_I really hope they aren't both guards. I don't think a hundred of me and Naruto would be enough to deal with a woman pissed off at the guy who can't take a hint.'_ Standing outside the room the grinding noise was coming from, Kakashi raised his headband from over his left eye to prepare for the fight he expected on the other side of the door.

Bracing himself for any counterattacks, Kakashi kicked the door down and looked inside. He immediately released the genjutsu inside the room that his Sharingan perceived with a handseal and a flare of chakra, unknowingly breaking it for Tayuya, too. The image around the 'kid' hitting on Tayuya wavered before falling to reveal the stout man underneath it. At 4'5", it was obvious to Kakashi the man had no care for his personal appearance as all his hair, on his face and head, was wild and unkempt. His teeth were yellowed just a bit, though all of them were there and perfectly straight. His nose was bulbous, his eyes were large, with the iris a dark brown bordering on black, and his hair was an olive green color. Kakashi was just thankful for his own eyes that the man had better fashion sense than Naruto or Gai, wearing a tanned leather jacket and pants with a fishnet shirt and snakeskin boots with pointed toes. _'If someone as ugly as this guy was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit or any color of spandex, I think I'd gouge out my Sharingan for forever copying the image to my memory.'_ Seeing the other person in the room was a redheaded girl that was stuck in a bed, Kakashi guessed she was the one they were there to 'extract'. The shocked look on her face when the genjutsu dropped seemed to support that theory, in his eyes at least.

Kakashi also noticed something that, would the act not have obstructed his view of his opponent, would have made him slap his forehead and bow his head. Out the window behind Tayuya's head, and thus out of her view, sat 'Naruto' and Pakkun, looking in to see what was happening. _'Of course they're there. I flared my chakra to break the genjutsu. At least they didn't come charging in without checking the situation first.'_

Kakashi looked back at his opponent, hoping to keep his eyes off the window. "What's a forty-something year old man doing hitting on a girl who's 16 at the very oldest? And using a genjutsu to cover such an ugly face to deceive the lady too? Tsk, tsk."

Even as the man grew red and glowered at Kakashi, Kakashi felt himself grow a little angry as the truth in his taunt hit him. _'I might believe in the philosophy 'if they're old enough to kill, ...' but more than a decade's difference is cradle robbing no matter how you look at it. He's an ugly pedophile!'_ Kakashi glared at the man, and spoke in an angry voice, "What's the name of the ugly, old pedophile I'll get the distinct pleasure of killing today?"

"Kanaye Yamamoto(1)." The stout man performed a single handsign before saying, "Kaibutsu Katachi no Jutsu: Katachi Sho (2)!"

There was a flash of light around Kanaye, and a boom like thunder when a large cloud of chakra smoke hid him from view. Kakashi barely dodged to the side as a huge... arm thing tore past him and destroyed the walls around the doorway and opposite the door. The arm slid back into the cloud of chakra smoke - similar to the way Shukaku's arm slid back inside the 'sand egg' during the third part of the Chuunin Exams - and Kakashi stood ready to dodge again as he kept his eyes on the cloud of chakra smoke.

When the smoke dissipated, Kakashi wished it would come back, as the form before him truly was monstrous. The 4'5" man had become a 7'11"... something. Its legs reminded Kakashi of an elephant, short but stout and round, and its arms were just like a gorilla's - if the gorilla was eight feet tall and had three malformed claws on each hand instead of fingers. Its torso was wider than two-and-a-half times Kakashi's shoulder-to-shoulder width and was very well muscled, even having a sixteen-pack. The top of its large skull was flat, with the back broad and the front coming almost to a point, like a triangle pointing to what it was 'facing'. Underneath the top of its skull, Kakashi couldn't tell if it had a face or not, since from the bottom of the front of the skull down and around to the back of the head was covered in hundreds of thin tendrils. The closest thing it had to a face was the two large holes, which Kakashi guessed to be nostrils, on top of its head. Kakashi was thankful to see a loincloth, as the thing was bad enough as it was. Its skin was hairless and oily looking, colored gray with spots of various sizes and shades of brown and green, while its bulging muscles seemed to crawl underneath the skin.

Tayuya had gone pale. _'What the fuck is this? First the 'kid' and room turns out to be a genjutsu, now the fugly old man who was hitting on me turns into this... thing. I think I'll pass out if something else freaky happens.'_

Naruto had eyes the size of dinner plates and his jaw was hanging open from his spot on the windowsill. _'...'_

With Jiraiya and Naruto

Naruto fell from the limb he had resumed his squats on, the blow of the ground to his head not breaking him out of his disgusted trance as his mind attempted to process what his other set of eyes were telling him.

Jiraiya wondered yet again what his student was reacting to.

With Kakashi

As he dodged the powerful extended strikes from the thing that called itself Yamamoto, Kakashi remembered what he knew of the Kanaye clan and their kekkei genkai from the last great shinobi war. _'The Kanaye clan was native to Tsuchi no Kuni, and hence Iwagakure no Sato. Minato-sensei supposedly wiped out their entire clan during the war, but I guess this one got away... Hmm, their kekkei genkai, Kaibutsu Katachi, allowed them to assume a number of monstrous and inhumanly powerful forms. That he called this 'form one', either he hasn't achieved any other forms or he decided this was the best form for the situation.'_ A sudden creaking of the ceiling and floor alerted Kakashi to return more awareness to his surroundings. _'Shimmata! The roof's going to cave and the floor's going to drop out! He's taken out most of the wall supports on this floor trying to hit me!'_

"PAKKUN! RUN INTERFERENCE!" Kakashi shouted.

Outside the window, Pakkun and the other nin-dogs heard Kakashi's call, and Pakkun said, "Oy, Naruto! Break the top windowpane for us."

Thinking by us Pakkun meant the two of them, Naruto busted in the glass of the top windowpane, then prepared to leap in - until Pakkun used his face as a springboard to propel himself into the room. The rest of the nin-dogs leapt from the roof across the street onto Naruto's face or chest to springboard through the broken pane, although the largest one widened the hole quite a bit, causing the room to creak more as it got closer to collapsing. Fortunately for Naruto, he had been holding himself to the windowsill with chakra, so despite the fact that the dogs' use of his body as a springboard had him standing perpendicular to the wall, he didn't fall on the exploding tag traps liberally littering the ground around the house.

Naruto practically fell in surprise, however, when his sensei came rocketing out of the hole where the window was - with Tayuya in his arms, one hand holding her face to his chest and the other arm doing its best to support her spine.

As he passed over him, Kakashi shouted to Naruto, "BLOCK FOR ME!"

Standing upright and looking in the hole in the wall, Naruto saw what he was expected to block. The tendrils covering most of the thing's skull were shooting out and lancing the nin-dogs, while sparking with electricity. Seemingly in slow motion, as the last of the nin-dogs poofed away to the summon plane, Naruto saw the tendrils point in their direction, at Kakashi and Tayuya behind him.

Jumping back and twisting to face Kakashi, Naruto moved his arms, legs, and tail into a position as widely spread as possible, then tried to shove chakra into and out of the bones in his five limbs to form a 'dish' to protect the two from the onslaught. Before the tendrils reached Naruto, the dish had become wide enough to block all the attacks. Unfortunately for Naruto's 'absolute defense', he had failed to consider a major detail in his plan.

His body he was using used almost purely earth-based chakra and moves, including the bone-manipulation it did, whereas the attack coming in was clearly using lightning chakra or something fairly similar. What Naruto failed to realize, probably because no one ever told him the fact, and Kakashi overlooked, was that lightning trumps earth. Every time.

"**Naruto-kun. Brace yourself for a _lot_ of pain."** He heard and barely registered Kyuubi's voice before it hit.

Kakashi watched as the second body of his student was skewered by seemingly hundreds of spear-like tendrils, and then electrocuted through them. He watched the muscles convulse and smelt burnt flesh while the electricity arced so intensely it was making blinding flashes. Then he watched as the body fell, thankfully not landing on any tripwires to trigger the explosive traps below.

With Jiraiya

Jiraiya and Sakura looked on, one in pained understanding and the other in near-panicked worry, as Naruto convulsed in a silent scream on the ground. Sakura looked up to Jiraiya wide-eyed, "Jiraiya-sensei, what's happening?"

Jiraiya knew his answer wouldn't be easy to hear, but expected his 'apprentice' to be able to bear hearing it. "Naruto's second body... is experiencing an agonizing mortal wound or death."

Sakura inhaled sharply as the rest fell into place. Nonetheless, Jiraiya continued to speak, his saddened eyes looking at Naruto's still convulsing body. "This is the greatest, and yet the least considered, weakness of the Rin'neggan. The bearer experiences everything the other bodies experience. It's also the reason why Kage Bunshin were designed to not return information if they were 'killed' by either wounds or chakra exhaustion. If they did, the user of the technique would experience the pain of dying... like Naruto is."

They continued to look on as Naruto's convulsing slowed to twitching, and then heavy breathing, his eyes staring emptily into space as his mind tried wrapping around what he just felt. Jiraiya shuddered at his thoughts, _'but what kind of agony could do this to the boy who shrugged off the pain of a Chidori through the chest to yank the arm out of himself?'_

With Kakashi

As Kakashi watched the tendrils that skewered Naruto turn to dust, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps from the hole in the house, and he looked up to see the source of the noise. The thing, fully visible through the hole that had been expanded further by the last barrage of tendrils, was pulling back its fist, preparing to launch another extending punch. Kakashi, still midair, had no way of dodging it in time and both hands were occupied with the young girl - who was looking down at the regenerating 'Kimimaro' with shock - so he practically rejoiced at the next sound he heard.

CRACK

With one outside wall and both internal walls virtually destroyed, there simply wasn't enough support for the room, especially with the massive creature in it. The floor and roof of the room gave out at the same time, and the first floor gave out as soon as the falling beast hit it. The whole house collapsed in on itself as it fell into the deep shaft that was there in place of a basement, forcefully reminding Kakashi of _why _the town had been abandoned for so long. It took a good ten second before Kakashi heard the resounding crash as the falling house hit the bottom of the shaft.

'_It was during the war against Iwa... they decided to pull a terrorist attack by digging those shafts under the houses in this town with their jutsu, just narrow enough so the house wouldn't collapse without a little push. Fortunately sensei ended the war with them before the last stage of the plan was fulfilled, and as a token of their desire to end the hostilities the Tsuchikage told us about this plan before the houses collapsed on their own.'_

Seeing the weak movements of Naruto's second body below him, Kakashi carefully jumped down next to him, avoiding landing on the tripwires. Panting heavily, Naruto looked at his sensei. "I don't... have much chakra... to spare... in this body... I used pretty much... all I had to repair... the damage... that attack did..."

Kakashi looked at Naruto, then at the passed out Tayuya, then at Naruto again. "Dispel that body. It'll only slow me down from returning to you guys with her, and we can't afford to set off any tripwires here as we rush out of town just because you're too weak to roof jump. If one explosion goes off, it'll trigger the rest, and then all of us will die as the entire village collapses into those shafts."

Naruto nodded once, then dispelled the body. In a hurry to get out, Kakashi slid his headband over his Sharingan and formed a single-handed handseal to shunshin closer to the place Jiraiya and the others were waiting for him. Seconds later, a winged beast flew from the pit where the collapsed house lay.

With Jiraiya

Naruto had been sitting up, gazing forward blankly while blinking every so often for the past several minutes. Sakura was torn between comfort that he wasn't in any pain at the moment, and concern that he was completely unresponsive to her and Jiraiya during this time. Although Jiraiya did _try_ to offer her comfort.

"Give him some time. He's trying to cope with the mental strain of the agony he just endured. He'll come around in a little while..."

And come around he did, though it took a while. His eyes shifted to their normal selves, ringless, and he spoke up, "Kakashi is on his way with one of the Sound Five who survived. My other body exhausted its chakra supply repairing itself, so I had to send it back into... wherever it goes when not in use to recover its chakra."

Jiraiya nodded his head, expecting what he was hearing, but Sakura was practically freaking out. This was the first she'd heard of the surviving Sound Five member. The same Sound Five that helped Sasuke get to Orochimaru and, by extension, were responsible in part for Naruto's banishment. The same Sound Five that put Neji, Kiba, and Chouji in the hospital. Fortunately, Naruto and Jiraiya noticed her near-meltdown state, and decided to inform her of the facts that had led them to the decision they had come to regarding 'the girl'.

Having successfully stopped a 'Class 4 Panic Attack', Naruto looked at Jiraiya, his eyes starting to mist, and asked the question, "why didn't you warn me about the danger of dying like that?"

"I honestly didn't expect you to experience it so soon, I was planning on telling you later about that danger." Jiraiya sighed before he continued the rest in his mind, _'Least of all did I expect you to experience something that would make _you_ scream in agony...'_

The group sat in silence for awhile, awaiting Kakashi's return to the group with his unconscious passenger.

Near Konoha

Gamakachi was dodging left and right while heading towards the main gate of Konoha, ROOT ANBU in hot pursuit and throwing kunai to try and dispel the summon. As it neared it's goal, it was cut off by a ROOT who swooped it up.

Rather than risk the scroll being plucked from his mouth, Gamakachi dispelled himself.

With Jiraiya

Kakashi, with a still unconscious Tayuya in his arms, finally made it to the group with Jiraiya. "Set her on the ground so I can check her injuries over." Jiraiya told Kakashi, using his serious voice.

As Kakashi laid Tayuya gently flat on the ground, Naruto piped up a question. "Oi, Ero-sennin. I didn't know you were a medic-nin."

"I'm not, but you don't participate in a couple major and minor shinobi wars without picking up some basic medical knowledge. I have enough experience with injuries that I should be able to determine just how bad hers are." Jiraiya ran his hands gently over Tayuya's legs and hips, checking carefully for broken bones.

As he finished checking how badly her legs were messed up, Tayuya started to stir. "Rise and shine, kid."

At the sound of an unfamiliar man's voice, Tayuya's eyes shot open. Looking up at the white-haired man, she saw the kanji for 'oil' on his headband and sagged. Looking around her, she saw Hatake Kakashi, the orange-wearing gaki from her last mission, and a pink haired kunoichi wearing the leaf headband.

"So, this is how it goes down. Taken by fucking tree huggers to be tortured for information on the bastard who'll kill me as soon as he realizes I'm still alive." Tayuya looked almost broken as she said this, not even putting up a token resistance.

Naruto, not being one to let people who weren't his enemy suffer if he could help it, decided to break her funk. "Oi, what are you talking about? We aren't going to interrogate you. And how's _he_ going to find out you're alive if he doesn't already know? Those Akatsuki agents we saved you from sure weren't going to tell him, and no one here is exactly on friendly speaking terms with him, either."

"Akatsuki... agents? What the hell are you talking about, fuck nut?"

Kakashi decided to jump into the conversation before Naruto could jump into a insult contest with the redhead. "The people keeping you in that house were agents of an organization called the Akatsuki, specifically under Akasuna no Sasori. Sasori has an especial hatred for Orochimaru, so he was going to come and personally torture information out of you about him once his agents got you healthy enough to survive the torture long enough to give him some useful information."

Tayuya paled at this. "O-oh," she gulped. "Well, in about a week, the bastard will have regained enough strength from switching bodies to be able to sense those of us he marked from a distance. So he'll realize I'm still alive and send a team to dispose of me for being weak. Although given that Kimimaro saw me not that long ago, he'll probably know sooner if he doesn't already."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck and smiled nervously. "Um... actually, that wasn't Kimimaro."

Tayuya rolled her eyes, "Sure, fuck nut, then who was it, you?"

"Actually, yeah, Tayuya-san." Tayuya gave him a weird look, so rather than giving a long-winded explanation, Naruto just pushed chakra to his eyes and muttered, "The First Path of Sacrifice."

Tayuya gaped at the figure the smoke revealed to her. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"It's part of my kekkei genkai, we'll explain later 'cause it takes a long time to say it all and I think we're running a little tight for time anyway." Naruto looked at Kakashi as he said the last part, and both Kakashi and Jiraiya nodded in acknowledgement of what Naruto was saying.

Jiraiya cleared his throat to get her attention as Kimimaro poofed back out to finish refilling his chakra pools, then he spoke. "Since we're short on time, I won't skirt around on saying it like it is. You have two choices now, come with Naruto or die here."

Tayuya didn't know how to react to that, but she just blinked before she said, "Either way I'll die. Orochimaru will come for me, and-"

"No. I can seal off your curse seal so he can't sense it unless you're within ten feet of him, and at that close he'd sense you anyway."

Tayuya looked thoughtful, considering a continued life. "I'd still be a cripple..."

Kakashi sighed, then pulled out a kunai, "Well, if you want to die we can at least make it quick and relatively painless..."

"**Kit, don't let him kill her yet, I have an idea that may help. But she has to accept the risks first."**

Naruto quickly shoved his way between Kakashi and Tayuya, preventing Kakashi from killing Tayuya - who had tilted her head back and closed her eyes in acceptance. Everyone looked at Naruto slightly surprised, although Tayuya's look was more like 'what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?'

"Kyuubi says she's got an idea. While I meditate to talk with her about it, why doesn't Ero-sennin go ahead and take care of Tayuya's curse seal?"

"Fine, gaki," Jiraiya made a shooing motion to Naruto and Kakashi, "you two go a ways away for right now, in case the young _lady's_ curse seal is in an embarrassing place."

"How do we know you're not going to do something perverted to her if it is, _Ero-_sennin?" Naruto poked at Jiraiya's back.

"Why do you think I'm having Sakura stay right here, gaki?"

At this Naruto calmed a bit, and went to join Kakashi a ways down the road. Although Tayuya had caught on to what was being implied, and was now looking at the white-haired Sannin with a good deal of caution. She looked at the pink haired kunoichi, and said, "if he does something perverted to me, promise you'll help restrain him while I perform the castration."

Sakura nodded as Jiraiya sweatdropped, while in his mind he trembled and covered his most prized possession.

Jiraiya sat next to where Tayuya laid and directed Sakura to sit opposite him. "Sakura, pay close attention to what I do, because you _are_ my apprentice, and I expect you to be able to do this as well someday." Sakura nodded and Jiraiya continued, "So, Tayuya-san, where _is_ that curse seal at?"

Naruto's Mindscape

"So. What's this idea to help Tayuya out, and what are the risks she'll have to accept?" Naruto said.

"**The plan is simple. I'll do something similar to her that I unintentionally did with Kimimaro's body. With your permission, I can pump my youkai out of you and into her curse seal. This _will_ instantly break her curse seal's connection with Orochimaru, just like it did with Kimimaro's, and by manipulating the youkai I put in the curse seal, I can repair virtually any damage in her body, including everything in her legs. However..."** Kyuubi paused as though considering how to put the next part.

"Well, what's the bad news? It all sounds good so far."

"**After this is done, her curse seal will fuse into her. Most likely, this will give her the same advantages as Kimimaro's old body now has. The bonuses of curse seal level two are permanently hers without the stamina drain or breakdown of her mind and soul, but she'll also be permanently stuck in that form. I may be able to lessen it so she only partially transforms, but she'll have some features, in part or whole, from her level two form. Also, when we do this, the backlash of the broken bonds _will_ let Orochimaru know she is still alive even in his current weakened state, but he won't know where she is or even if she survived after the bonds were snapped."** Kyuubi looked at Naruto meaningfully as she continued, **"And one last thing."**

Naruto nodded, feeling the seriousness of the situation.

"**This whole thing will require preparation. You'll have to draw an intricate seal I'll show you and it'll need to be set up a particular way. She has to be in the seal the whole time you draw it, and you'll have to perform a long chain of handseals to perform the technique. Any little error in this could have unpredictable side effects, so you'll have to get it right the first time."**

Naruto didn't know what to say to that, so he just decided, _'I'll just tell Tayuya-chan everything and let her decide whether or not to go through with it.'_

With Jiraiya

"FUUJA HOUIN (3)!" Jiraiya shouted, his hand pressing down on Tayuya's curse seal, between her shoulder blades near the base of her neck. The seals, kanji, and runes Jiraiya drew seemed to crawl over Tayuya, forming a seal that looked like a barbed wire fence circling the curse seal.

Tayuya lay panting as she glared up at Jiraiya. "You ass, you didn't tell me that was going to hurt like fucking hell!"

Jiraiya seemed to ignore the outburst. "Just remember, as long as you never try and call on the curse seal yourself, the suppressor seal will hold."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it, you crusty old man."

'_Naruto sure does pick up the charmers,'_ Jiraiya sarcastically thought.

"Yo." The three looked up to see Kakashi, nose buried in his book. "Naruto's done talking with the Kyuubi, so he sent me to see if it's all clear for him to come back over here..."

"Oi, gaki, you can come back on over!" Jiraiya shouted in Naruto's direction. A few seconds later, Naruto was jogging towards them, hands behind his head.

"So, fuck nut, what'd the Kyuubi have to say about this?"

"Well, here's the deal..."

At the 'Abandoned' Village

Two figures stood looking down a pit, both wearing black cloaks with blue clouds on them. "Well, we're screwed. When Sasori-sama gets here and finds out we lost his 'information'..." The man whined out.

"No. Kanaye-san isn't in the pit. Nor have I sensed his death. Which means he's tracking whoever either interfered here or took our 'information'. We'll have to follow his tracks and eventually we'll catch up to him and, thus, our information. Besides, we have a whole month before Sasori-sama expects his information to be delivered to him." the woman calmly replied.

Near Kakashi and Jiraiya

'_Jiraiya of the Sannin _and_ Sharingan Kakashi. I'll have to wait for an opening to retrieve Sasori-sama's future puppet. I doubt I'd be able to pull off this with both of them here. But I won't stop looking for that opening, 'cause no one makes a fool of Kanaye Yamamoto.'_ the metamorph thought as he watched the group of shinobi and his target from a hidden spot in the trees through a spyglass.

With Jiraiya

"So, Tayuya-chan, that's how it's gotta be... You don't have to decide right now, you could come with us and think about it before deciding." Naruto said.

"I... I think I will, fuck nut."

While their conversation was going on, another conversation between Jiraiya and Kakashi was taking place.

"Jiraiya-sama, does it matter how badly decomposed the body is?"

"For the Rin'neggan, you mean?" Kakashi nodded. "As long as you have either eye sockets or eyeballs for the Rin'neggan to match a gaze with, the rest of the body's condition is inconsequential."

"In that case, if you are going on that 'body collecting trip' to help Naruto, I've got a suggestion for some useful ones in Nami no Kuni."

"Oh? Do tell..."

Meanwhile back with Naruto and the two kunoichi, "Hey, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"Jiraiya mentioned that Kakashi was returning to Konoha soon and that it would be our last guaranteed chance to get letters to people in Konoha. We should write them something while we have the chance..."

"Ah..." Naruto slumped down and pulled writing materials out of his pack. His tongue rubbing his upper lip in concentration, Naruto began his letter.

'_Dear baa-chan,...'_

Half an hour later

Kakashi stood before Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura, and Tayuya, the message scroll from Jiraiya and the letters from Sakura and Naruto tucked safely in his pouch, the spot he usually reserved for his Icha Icha Paradise book. "Well, best of luck, all. Wish me a safe trip home."

Naruto smiled sadly, knowing this might be the last time he got to see his jounin sensei for a long while, "As long as you promise not to get lost on the road of life on the way there!"

Sakura had a teary-eyed smile and just nodded her head, not trusting her voice._ 'Not even gone yet and I miss him already...'_

Kakashi gave an eye smile, then vanished in a blur of motion.

Not too far away

Kanaye Yamamoto watched Kakashi leave the area, feeling tempted to take out the copy-nin. _'Can't get distracted from the mission, damn it. Next time, copycat. I'll get you next time.'_

He continued to watch the group, waiting for them to leave a wider opening. After all, Kakashi was a small time hindrance compared to one of the Sannin.

With Jiraiya

Jiraiya looks at his current traveling companions and, not wanting the two sentimental ones to get pulled too deep by their depressing thoughts, he boisterously said, "well, now. We should be getting set to go. I already have the perfect destination in mind and the way to get there picked out. Naruto, you'll be carrying Tayuya."

"Huh? Why am I carrying her?"

"Naruto, Tayuya is your responsibility." Jiraiya had his serious face on again. "As Sakura and I are Konoha-nin, and Tayuya was an Oto-nin, if she were our responsibility, we would be bound by our oaths to Konoha to take her in and hand her over for interrogation. Secondly, the choice to save her was made by you. It was the same choice I would have probably made in your shoes, but as a wandering-nin you have to learn to take responsibility for _all_ of your choices. So until Tayuya can take care of herself, she's yours to take care of."

"Great, I'm stuck with the fuck nut taking care of me."

"And Naruto..."

"Huh?" Naruto gives a frustrated look to Jiraiya, knowing he won't like whatever he's going to say next.

"You won't be able to use your kekkei genkai until I say so." Jiraiya said sternly.

"But why?"

The next thing Naruto knew, Jiraiya was kneeling next to him, whispering in his ear. "Naruto... there's a foreign chakra signature sitting just out of sight that's been there since Kakashi returned. Their going to try and tail us. The most effective way to throw off their attempt, as well as misdirect any tracking units of ROOT ANBU that might be after us, is if you use a liberal amount of Kage bunshin with Henge's on so they can't tell which group is the real one. After you pick up Tayuya, make 30 Kage bunshin and, while the smoke from their creation is still covering us, have 1/3 henge into me, 1/3 henge into Sakura, and 1/3 henge into a Tayuya-carrying Naruto. Once the smoke clears, we'll all take off in different directions, and all you have to do is keep up with the real me."

"Why don't you just shunshin us out of here?" Naruto whispered back.

"A shunshin _would_ put distance between us and this tail, but then he'd just have to find one trail again to find us. If he follows the wrong group, he'll have to backtrack, guess which of the remaining sets of tracks is the right one, then follow it to see if it is."

Naruto nodded, stepped over to Tayuya and shrugged off his backpack before handing it to her. Then he got down so she could wrap her arms around his neck while he held her splinted legs to support her weight. Then he stepped next to Jiraiya and Sakura and, with some difficulty, formed the familiar cross-shaped handseal, making 30 Kage Bunshin. As they performed the henge, Naruto felt Jiraiya grab his shoulder and perform a shunshin under the cover of the chakra smoke.

Reappearing over two hundred yards from the mass of Kage Bunshin, Jiraiya had them wait until he sensed the foreign chakra signature following after one of the false groups. Finally satisfied that no one else would be following right behind them, he signaled the group to start moving out of the heavy bush and onto the road.

In Konoha

Of the 21 shinobi and kunoichi gathered at the training ground frequented by Team Gai, only two knew what they had been gathered here for - Tsunade and Shizune. The others, teams 8 and 10, Gai's team, Iruka, the Konohamaru Corps, and the Suna Siblings - who were still waiting to talk with Naruto before they departed for back home - were all wondering why the Godaime Hokage had requested they all gather here.

"For those who are wondering why your here, it has to do with Naruto. Since you all have had some... positive contact with him, I figure it's only fair you be told what has been done to him."

These words coming from Tsunade brought a hushed silence from the crowd that had been milling about previously. She then proceeded to explain Naruto's situation, leaving out any parts referencing Naruto as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Needless to say, it was not a happy crowd that was assembled.

"This isn't right... Naruto practically kills himself for them and they throw him out like a used bone." Kiba was seething with his teammates.

'_Naruto-kun... I never got to tell you...'_ Hinata collapsed into Shino, silent sobs racking her body while she tried to hide her face in his coat. Shino wrapped an arm around Hinata to softly pat her back. Although he said nothing, the agitated buzz of Shino's colony said it all about the degree to which he was upset.

'_Because I wasn't strong enough to provide more help and a better plan, not only did I almost lose Chouji, but Naruto is practically lost to us now,'_ Shikamaru thought. His face set itself in a firm scowl. _'I can't afford to laze around anymore! I'll have to take up training to be a greater shinobi. For my friends.'_

'_I can only imagine how Sakura must feel... to lose both of her teammates in such a short time, and be unable to do anything about it. Maybe it's time I brought back my friendship with her.'_

'_Naruto, my fellow ramen connoisseur, I'll miss the deeply philosophical talks we had at the ramen stand. I'll have to triple my ramen consumption just to help make it up to the Ichiraku's. I vow to do that for you!'_

"It is unyouthful how this village has attempted to put out Naruto-kun's burning flames of youth! Yet I hold out hope, for Naruto's flames of youth burn brighter than all of ours! His flames of youth cannot be put out! YOSH!" Lee's pupils were burning brightly with their own flame as he finished yelling his speech loud enough for the whole crowd to hear it.

'_I cannot help but think that this is fate. Yet, I refuse to believe that this will crush you, Naruto. You're the one who will take your fate, and make it work for you. Show us all. Overcome your fate.'_ Neji's face was in a scowl, his eyes practically having a fire like Lee's with their intensity.

'_He moves so many of his peers, and even Tsunade-sama. It makes me wish I had taken the time to get to know him myself... No more. I'll pay more attention to, cherish those who are around me. I don't want to regret not getting to know anyone else while I had the chance.'_ "Lee... Neji..." Her teammates looked at her as she spoke. "I think it would be a good idea if we... spent time with what's left of the Rookie 9."

They nodded their assent.

Kurenai watched the genin around her react to the news, uncertain whether she was more sad or proud. _'This feeling of family. This is what makes Konoha strongest of the Great Five. And the village is trying to tear this apart for the false strength the Uchiha might have brought and their paranoid fears.'_

"Old man," Asuma mumbled, "sorry I couldn't look out for him like you would have. I just hope you aren't having to watch this happen to the village you died for."

"That one in the springtime of youth should be denied the renewing of their flames of youth by the very ones they burn with youthfullness for. The travesty!" Gai whispered with such intensity, that those present thought he might've snapped.

The trio known as the Konohamaru Corps was in a huddle, hiding the fact that they were all in tears at the crushing news. "Boss..."

Kankuro and Temari looked at their youngest sibling, his eyes having picked up that homicidal stare, with some sand picking up in the air behind him. It reminded them of when he was younger and, inevitably, who the reason was that they no longer need fear that look.

Kankuro put his hand on Gaara's left shoulder, and gave a comforting squeeze. It snapped his brother out of his psychotic glare. Temari placed her hand on his other shoulder and smiled sadly at him. The sand quieted down.

"Let's go home, Gaara. Maybe we'll see him soon, and can give him a warm welcome," Kankuro said.

"So he knows he still has precious people somewhere out there," Temari said.

"Yeah. Let's head home." With a swirl of sand and wind, the Suna siblings appeared at the East Gate of Konoha. Which they departed for Suna through.

Iruka and Shizune stood hugging, both silently letting tears fall for their lost little brother.

Tsunade sat in the middle of it all, already through three full bottles of sake. _'Not like it matters what they think of a drunk Hokage. I only took this position for the gaki's sake anyway...'_

Anko's Apartment

"Anko, you have to start taking missions again soon," Ibiki said through the door.

"Ibiki, I can't. You know what will happen. Something will conveniently 'come up' that causes a mission failure, and then I'll be banished faster than you can say 'whoops'!" Anko shouted back from the inside.

"Anko, stop being paranoid. No one is out to get you like that," Ibiki said, getting frustrated.

Elsewhere In Konoha

"Now that the Kyuubi brat is gone, we have to get rid of the snake whore. She's the next biggest danger to our plans," a figure cloaked in shadows spoke to it's companion.

"Yes, we are so close to having this village in the palm of our hands..." Danzo said, grinning widely as he envisioned the future for Konoha.

On the Road to Nami no Kuni

Having performed a second 'mass misleading group' of Kage bunshin and a change of direction a while back, the group of shinobi was taking their time to get to the place Jiraiya was leading them to. Confident in Jiraiya's statement that they had lost whomever was tailing them completely, they relaxed their guard and pace somewhat.

Sakura was leaping from one thick branch to another, doing her best to avoid the kunai and shuriken flying by her. She cursed Jiraiya in her mind. _'Slave driver! How am I going to live through this?!'_

"_**CHA! If we die, I'm coming back to haunt his ass!"**_

Flashback

Jiraiya had just finished sealing all of Sakura's items into a scroll, which he immediately gave her and told her to put into her kunai pouch. As she did that she decided to question him on something. "Ne, Jiraiya-sensei, why didn't you seal my backpack itself? Since there's no longer anything in it, it'd be pretty stupid for me to carry it on my back empty, don't you think?"

The grin that put on Jiraiya's face made her shudder, and it wasn't the perverted kind of grin, either.

"Sakura-san, this is your next training exercise." Jiraiya started picking up random rocks - larger than pebbles but not quite as large as the balloons he used to train Naruto to use the Rasengan - and placing them in Sakura's backpack until it was half full. "You will carry this on your back, without using the straps or using chakra to enhance your muscles in any way, through the tree branches while I launch kunai and shuriken at you from various angles until we get to where we're going."

Sakura paled. "Na-NANI?"

Jiraiya's grin grew wider. "If you or the bag touches the ground during this exercise, I'll add more weight. If you use chakra to enhance your muscles, I'll add more weight. If either you or the bag takes a hit from what I'll be tossing at you that's enough to damage your 'skins', you'll come down, we'll fix the damage, and I'll add even more weight before we start again."

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? I'LL DIE IF-"

Jiraiya made as if to put another rock into the bag, this one slightly larger than those balloons. "Oh, you have some complaints?"

Sakura grabbed the bag, closed it up, and threw it on her back. "Nope! No complaints here!" She could feel the sweat on the back of her neck reminding her to not antagonize the slave driving sensei. It'd only make it worse.

Flashback End

Sakura was having a hard time keeping her balance. Both her arms were occupied with holding the bag onto her back and said bag was totally throwing off her center of gravity. She'd already had to step down from the trees twice so Jiraiya could patch a tear in the bag and increase the weight. On top of this, she had to divide her attention between watching for more attacks aimed at her or the bag and looking for another branch that would support the combined weight of her and her bag that was within her restricted jumping distance.

The genjutsu Jiraiya had just used didn't help either. Next to her was the ethereal form of Jiraiya, chatting with her.

"Seeing as you need some help, I'll give you some hints. First, didn't your sensei teach you to look 'underneath the underneath.'"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura didn't have the energy to yell at the man, busy as she was.

The illusionary Jiraiya sighed before he spoke. "The rules I gave you for this exercise, you've yet to even see the loopholes I intentionally left for you."

"EH?" Sakura was so surprised, she failed to dodge the kunai that came through the illusionary body in time, as it made another tear in the bag.

The illusion sighed again, before saying, "Come down and I'll explain it to you while I'm fixing the bag." The genjutsu disappeared, and Sakura jumped down to where Jiraiya was waiting with crossed arms.

Sakura asked Jiraiya, "what was that genjutsu talking about?"

As Jiraiya took the bag to patch up the tear, he started talking. "You make the mistake of taking things as they're given to you and not considering what they really mean. You assume that the face value of words are the full depth they have."

"Huh?"

"I'll give you two examples from this exercise. One, I told you that you couldn't use the straps to keep the backpack on your back, so you assumed you had to hold it there with your arms. What about using your ninja wire, or some cloth strips to hold it on? That isn't against any rules I stated and would free up your arms." Sakura looked somewhat sheepish at this.

"Two, I told you that you couldn't use chakra to enhance your muscles in any way, but you assumed that that means you couldn't use chakra at all. You could use the tree walking exercise to help your balance and evasion. You could use bunshin to create confusion as to where I should throw my weapons or a kawamiri to dodge a strike you can't avoid otherwise. None of those are against the rules."

Now Sakura looked really sheepish, she was supposed to be the 'smartest' on her genin team yet she missed all this. Suddenly her face lit up in a burst of realization. "...the creek."

"Hmm?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this as he looked for some rocks to add weight to the backpack.

"The creek that's running alongside this path. If I water walk on it for a step to dodge and get back into the branches... I won't have touched the ground, so there's no rule against it, right?"

Jiraiya's smile was warm and proud this time, and it made Sakura think of the look on her grandfather's face when she told him she was going to join the ninja academy as a little girl. (4) She was so caught up in the reminiscence she didn't notice Jiraiya quietly setting the heavier of the two stones he had picked up back down and only putting the lighter of the two into her backpack before resealing it.

"Good job, Sakura. Even I missed that loophole." Sakura beamed at the praise.

"I'll give you two minutes to get back to the exercise, then my Kage Bunshin will return to the throwing of sharp implements. I've got to talk to Naruto about something now."

As Jiraiya made his Kage Bunshin, Sakura was already looking through the scroll eagerly to find where he had sealed her ninja wire and something to use for cushioning so the wire didn't cut into her skin or cut off her circulation.

Over with Naruto, he was carrying Tayuya on his back with an arm of his supporting underneath each of her legs. His hands were open and his palms were down, but that wasn't the unusual thing. The unusual thing was the pebbles hovering about an inch underneath each finger and thumb, and the kunai hovering point up a centimeter from the center of each palm.

Jiraiya had promised to teach him a new jutsu if he was able to get it to the point where the kunai tips were touching his palms without cutting him and the pebbles were at least five inches from his fingertips. So of course Naruto would give it his all. He was thankful for Kyuubi's healing effect, as his palms had been pierced many times by his rush to do this, and the occasional distractions his passenger gave didn't help. But he couldn't be mad at her, since Kimimaro told him the cause.

"_She fears being seen as weak, and you're seeing her at her weakest. Despite that you're helping her, she hurts you because it is all she can do to have any control over her situation right now. She hates feeling helpless and dependent."_

"Hey, fuck nut. The perverted ass is coming over."

Naruto cursed as he pierced his hands _again_. Jiraiya grabbed the kunai and pebbles from under his hands, and said, "We need to talk, Naruto."

Taking note of the perverted hermit's serious face, Naruto gave a serious response, "what about, Jiraiya-sensei?"

"We'll continue your chakra control training later. For now, make a Kage Bunshin with as little chakra as possible."

"Huh? Why do you want me to do that?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side - and almost smashing Tayuya's nose with the sudden movement.

Tayuya punched the top of his head. "Watch it, fuck nut. You could break my nose like that."

Jiraiya frowned, "I want to tell him something, that'll have him disperse within 30 seconds to a minute. No sense wasting chakra on something so short term."

"Why not just tell me then?"

"Did I forget to tell you? When a Kage Bunshin disperses, it sends information it gained to the user _and_ all other active Kage Bunshin of the user's."

"Ah... sugoi... hey, Jiraiya-sensei, why can't I just use Kage Bunshin for my chakra control training to speed it up, eh?" Naruto looked eagerly to Jiraiya, while Tayuya looked contemplative of this fact.

Jiraiya sighed, "Gaki." Naruto frowned, causing Tayuya to smirk. "Chakra control is inversely proportionate to maximum chakra capacity of your body. In other words, the more chakra your body houses when full capacity, the less control over it you naturally have and the harder it is to gain more control. When you make a Kage Bunshin, you divide your chakra evenly between all the Kage Bunshin and yourself, resulting in the Kage Bunshin's maximum chakra capacity being the amount it was created with. Say you make 29 Kage Bunshin. Including yourself, each body would receive 1/30th your chakra. So if you have them train on chakra control and then dispel them, you'd shoot your chakra control to hell. Because of the proportionality, you'd wind up using 30 times as much chakra as necessary to perform the control exercise when using your original body."

"So... it's a bad idea, right?"

Jiraiya palmed his forehead, and Tayuya looked incredulously at the blonde. "You didn't understand half of what the fucking pervert just said, did you, fuck nut?"

Naruto looked angrily over his shoulder and opened his mouth to retort when a voice in his head interrupted him. **"Calm down. I'll explain it later."**

Both Tayuya and Jiraiya looked at him strangely when he went from offended to calm instantly. "Kyuubi understood and said she'd explain it to me later. So what _are_ Kage Bunshin good for training in?" Naruto made the handseal and prepared to make a Kage Bunshin with as little chakra as humanly possible for him.

"Well elemental affinity training for one, because that's simply filtering neutral chakra to make..." Jiraiya looked stunned at the Kage Bunshin, if you could call it that, that Naruto had just made. It looked like Naruto's attempts at bunshin no jutsu, and poofed out after two seconds of painful existence. "... to make elemental chakra. Learning new jutsu for another, because that's all about the balance of spiritual, physical, and elemental parts of chakra irregardless of the chakra amount available." Naruto looked frustrated as he prepared to make another go of the technique, concentrating longer to make certain he gave it the right amount. Tayuya was snickering not-so-quietly at his misfortune. "Knowledge training, like reading scrolls and books or information gathering are other good training uses. The last use I can think of is body and chakra coil memory. That is..." Another Kage Bunshin formed, holding onto its knees and panting heavily as if exhausted. Jiraiya considered talking to it, before it jerked, stilled, went as white as a sheet, then fell over and dispelled. "... repeating of an action until it is ingrained to being almost reflexive or automatic, like repeated use of a jutsu so you need fewer or no handseals to perform it."

Jiraiya had a little grin at his student's expense, and Tayuya was slapping Naruto's back while struggling to hold on from laughing so hard - which she mostly did because it irked Naruto so much. Naruto was red in the face, half embarrassment, half frustration. Naruto would later realize what he was about to do was the basis of a variant of his favorite jutsu, but right now he was just frustrated with the jutsu. So he did what he usually does whenever a jutsu was frustrating him by not doing what he expected of it - shove as much chakra as possible into the jutsu and try to force it to work.

Since he was still focused on making a single weak clone, he wound up pushing half of his remaining chakra into a chakra construct made to handle, at most, 1/20th his remaining chakra. The result, Kage Bunshin that would have been perfect - if it weren't glowing blue as brightly as the sun.

Tayuya was shielding her eyes and gaping. She didn't know _what_ the fuck nut had done, but she knew this wasn't a Kage Bunshin. Naruto seemed oblivious, panting and holding onto his knees, though he noticed the ridiculously bright blue light coming from his left.

Even though it looked different, Jiraiya knew exactly what it was, and could guess how short its fuse was. As it began to bulge in random places and make a high pitched whistling noise (5), he grabbed Naruto and Tayuya in his arms and started hightailing it out of there. At the same moment, the Kage Bunshin he had training Sakura grabbed her and ran in the same direction.

Sensing the bunshin had reached critical mass, Jiraiya dropped the two in front of him and began forming handseals. His Kage Bunshin appeared and dropped off Sakura before dispersing. Jiraiya clapped both palms to the ground and cried out, "Doton: domu no jutsu!"

Then the clone exploded.

The silence that followed the blast was deafening to Tayuya, and she could see nothing but inky blackness. The only thing convincing her that she wasn't dead was the warm body still holding onto her. "fuck nut... what the hell did you do? I think I'm blind-"

"No," the voice of Jiraiya sounded out. The dome of compressed earth pulled back into the ground, letting sunlight reach them again. "You're not blind. _That_ was a very poorly done kage bunshin daibakuha, though only the gaki could do something like that on accident." Looking back toward where the clone had been, they see a crater with a 20 yard radius - themselves only being about five feet from the edge - and another 30 yards of devastation all the way around that.

'_Thank Kami I got that off as quick as I did. A second later and we'd all be as good as dead - well, maybe not Naruto, but only because of Kyuubi's regeneration.'_

"Whew, we're safe..." Naruto's relieved smile was exchanged for a grimace of pain as he reached up to hold his head.

"Fuck nut, you almost killed all of us!" Tayuya raised her free fist to strike him again... but someone caught that arm.

"Tayuya-_chan_." Tayuya flinched. That tone of voice, coming from a Sannin, was not something she wanted directed at herself. "Don't hit Naruto again. He's taken enough heat and pain for things that aren't his fault, so I don't want you giving him more of the same for an accidental mistake that won't repeat itself. Naruto, make a normal Kage Bunshin when you feel up to it. Better to waste some chakra than to have a repeat. For now, let's all make haste towards our destination and put off further training until we get there."

After another five minutes of hastened walking, Naruto had made the Kage Bunshin so Jiraiya could send his message to Naruto's other Kage Bunshin. Jiraiya told it, "If you've passed through or by a village, backtrack to it henge'd as civilians, go into any library in the village or town, and read up on as much civilian trade skills as you can. When you have about ten minutes of chakra left, go one at a time into unobtrusive areas of town and dispel yourselves. Do not dispel yourselves all at once, or Naruto will collapse and black out from an overload of information."

Tayuya watched as the Kage Bunshin dispelled itself to send the message out, and she thought to herself, _'How bad could this happy-go-lucky freak have had it? Even though he's a jinchuuriki, he isn't insane like that Gaara kid, so I doubt he had it as bad as him. Hell, I probably had it fucking worse than this kid. When Orochimaru found me in that village I was born in, I was eating out of the trash and stealing to survive. When he offered me a better life, I jumped on board, no questions asked. I wound up trading one bad life for another, just a change of what was bad about it.'_ Tayuya stared at the back of Naruto's head. _'When I get the chance, I'm grilling the fuck nut for every question I can think of. I won't make the same mistake again.'_

"Oi, Naruto." Naruto looked up at Jiraiya's contemplative voice, waiting for him to continue. "What's your goal going to be?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sakura and Tayuya looked over at the two, the former guessing immediately where this was going and the latter listening intently. _'If I know what his goals are, I'll have an idea of what he's after with helping me and I'll have an angle to approach questioning him from.'_

Jiraiya continued in his 'thinking' voice, "even if we manage to revoke or reverse your banishment, all that means is that you won't be punished for approaching or entering Konoha. By law, any banished ninja who are 'de-banished' - for whatever reason - can never regain their citizenship with Konoha. You'll be able to visit and the village or any of its citizens may hire you as a mercenary wandering-nin for missions that involve you being inside the village at some point, but you'll never be able to be a Konoha-nin again."

"B-but that means...!" Naruto's eyes were wide, and Tayuya perceptibly winced as his grip on her legs tightened uncomfortably.

"Yeah. Your dream to be Hokage is technically and officially over," Jiraiya said, sighing out an 'I'm sorry.'

Naruto slowed in his walk, looking at the ground, and the two moving ahead slowed and looked back at him. After a few moments of silent contemplation on his part and worried looks from two of the others present, Naruto raised his head. With a broad, real smile on his face, Naruto said, "it's okay."

Sakura sputtered at the almost _exuberant_ tone her former teammate spoke with. "But I thought becoming Hokage was your whole reason for existence!"

Naruto flinched a bit at her wording, as the words she used and Jiraiya's question brought up a memory of a talk with the then still psychotic Gaara in Rock Lee's hospital room.

Flashback

"I am only a relic of the past they want to get rid of. So why do I exist and live? I asked myself that question, but I could not find an answer. But I need those reasons while I am still alive. Or it would be the same as me being dead." Gaara spoke with cold hatred in his voice.

"What is he talking about?" Shikamaru asked.

'_I...understand... He's the same as me.'_ Naruto thought.

Flashback end

Naruto inhaled deeply before he spoke, "The Hokage title was more of a means to an end or a measuring stick for my real goals." Seeing Sakura's raised eyebrow, he continued. "My first reason for wanting to be Hokage was simple and childish - Sandaime-jiji was the closest thing I had to a grandfather as a small child, and I wanted to be just like him." This brought a smile from Sakura, a nod from Jiraiya, and a quiet scoff from Tayuya. "When I got older and was in the academy, I learned about all the Hokage. My reason became a more selfish one then - everyone accepted and respected the Hokage, and I wanted that. To be seen as Uzumaki Naruto, not the 'demon brat', Kyuubi reincarnated, or the 'pitiful jinchuuriki'." There was silence for a minute at the admission. For all the faults of his they may have pointed out to him, neither of them had ever _seriously_ considered him selfish.

Tayuya eyed him with suspicion in her thoughts, _'so, he's a glory-hound, huh? Maybe a touch of power-hunger in there... where does helping me fit into that exactly?'_

"But then... the mission to Nami no Kuni... I met a guy who reminded me what truly made the Hokage so great... Haku..." Jiraiya's ear perked up at the mention of the boy and the place they were traveling to. Sakura looked confused, having no recollection of any 'Haku' they had met in Nami.

"He told me a lesson I knew, but could never put to words myself - 'when you are protecting that which is precious to you, that is when you are truly strong.' Just like all the Hokage before, who'd given their lives to protect that which was most precious to them - Konoha and every person in it! That was when I found my real reason to push myself to become Hokage. If I became Hokage, it would be proof to me that I was strong enough to protect everyone and everything precious to me."

This brought smiles to Jiraiya's and Sakura's faces, although Sakura still felt confused about who this Haku guy was.

Tayuya's look at Naruto was uncertain. _'What the hell? I don't know how to make heads or tails of the orange-loving tree hugger's motives... I'm more confused about what he wants from me than I was before this talk.'_

Jiraiya noticed her look at Naruto and understood it immediately. _'I'll have to nip that situation in the butt before she grills Naruto with questions he can't answer.'_

"So what's your goal now?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya like he was an idiot. "I just told you -"

"No." Naruto looked confused. "Protecting that which is precious to you is an ideal, not a goal. It's something you simply _do_, not something you work towards. Being like Sarutobi-sensei? If you mean in strength, knowledge, or wisdom, you'll gain those in due time anyway, but if you mean personality-wise? You're kinder than him, even more forgiving, and your 'Will of Fire' could match his any day. That's all, unless of course... you want to match up to his _appreciation_ of my works. In that case, I'll be more than happy to provide materials to help you along with tha-"

"Nah, I'd rather take after baa-chan in that regard." Naruto's unthinking response was the only thing that kept Tayuya from planting her fist into his skull - like Sakura did to Jiraiya when his head hung down from Naruto's words.

Being accustomed to shaking off Tsunade's anti-pervert punches, Jiraiya bounced back to the discussion, serious once again, "as for acceptance for a goal, whose are you going for? Most all of your precious people accept you as you, although many of them have no clue about what you contain. The world's acceptance? Most of the world is unaware of your existence, and those who are either accept and respect you or are your mortal enemies."

"Kono-"

"Don't you _dare_ say _Konoha's_ acceptance." All three teenagers were shocked at the venom Jiraiya spat the sentence out with. Everyone stopped to stare at Jiraiya.

After several seconds of stunned silence, Jiraiya started talking again, "they don't deserve such devotion from you."

"Ah, they're not that bad, Ero-sennin." Naruto nearly smashed Tayuya in the face when he went to scratch the back of his neck.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "A month before Sasuke defected, Tsunade handed me the reports the Sandaime kept on your childhood and academy days." Naruto stilled completely. "When I was done reading them, I was about ready to pull an Orochimaru and destroy the whole village. Tsunade stopped me, having the good sense to have me stay in her office while I read them, and when I asked her how she could be so calm about _those things_ doing such atrocities to someone she claimed was as precious to her as Nawaki himself, do you know what she told me?" Naruto shook his head. "She said 'if I did that, a lot of innocent people - some quite precious to Naruto himself - will get hurt or killed along with the guilty. On top of that, everyone who hates Naruto would claim that 'the Kyuubi has corrupted the Godaime', then I'd be removed from office post haste and they'd replace me with some Naruto-hating figurehead who'd have him executed at the first opportunity.' I told her I was amazed at the clarity she could think with when angry. She told me Shizune hadn't read the reports at that time but understood what, in general, Tsunade was angry about and planning to do from her mutterings."

"So what happened next?" Naruto had completely forgotten about Sakura's and Tayuya's presences, completely focused on Jiraiya as he was.

Jiraiya frowned. "I told her I had some loose ends to tie up outside the village, then I was coming back to take you on a 'training trip' as my apprentice in the hopes of convincing you to never set foot in that ungrateful place ever again. Unfortunately, when I got back you had already been banished. As you aren't, or could ever again be, a sworn Konoha-nin, I can't take you as my _official_ apprentice."

Jiraiya kneeled down to look Naruto eye-to-eye, and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want you to be Konoha's sworn enemy. But I also don't want to see you dead by some Konoha-nin with a foolish grudge or a paid mission to kill you black ops style, who's able to stab you in the back because you automatically trust anyone wearing a leaf on their forehead. As much as it may pain you, don't consider yourself of the leaves anymore. I don't want to see you literally dying for acceptance."

Naruto gave a shaky nod, uncertain what it was he was supposed to aim for now and unsettled by his sensei's speech.

Tayuya was reconsidering her earlier thoughts about how tough he had it growing up. _'How fucked up was it to make _the_ Jiraiya of the Sannin consider going rogue and traitor all over their asses almost without a second thought?'_

Sakura was wondering over how little she actually knew of her former teammate.

All of them resumed walking again in silent contemplation, one considering what to do with his life, two reconsidering all they knew or assumed to know about the first, and the eldest watching and listening for danger so the rest of the group could do their soul searching in safety.

As the Sun Sets - The Great Naruto Bridge

The four stood staring at the plaque over the bridge they had halfway crossed, three with wide eyes and gaping mouths, and one old man who was proud of whatever his 'pupil' had accomplished here to receive this honor. Tayuya's words summed up her thoughts quite nicely. "What...the...hell?"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and said, "I think what your traveling buddy means is 'what did you do to get your name on such a major bridge?' "

"Well, I didn't expect them to name the bridge after me, I have a pretty good idea _why_ they might of... it has to do with me and Sakura-chan's first C-rank mission, which involved this bridge's construction-"

"I'll tell them the story. You'll exaggerate and elaborate the irrelevant parts too much," Sakura said.

"But Sakura-chan, you don't know all that happened!"

"Oh? Then I guess you'll get to fill in the blanks for me."

So Sakura told them most of the story of their first C-rank mission as Team 7, with Naruto adding in things like the private conversations with Haku - Sakura resisted the urge to slug him for saying he met a boy who he thought was prettier than her - and what happened inside the mist on the bridge. Sakura was surprised by what she didn't already know, and Jiraiya found out some new information, too - seeing as Naruto hadn't mentioned either of his conversations with Haku to Kakashi or in his mission reports.

Tayuya was once again shocked speechless. _'On his first C-rank as a genin... fuck nut went up against the Demon of the Mist and his apprentice with an advanced kekkei genkai... and came out on top both times? And Konoha kept him as a genin after _that_? Any other village and he'd be bumped up to chuunin at the very least! They must have really wanted to hold him back...'_

Jiraiya had an expression of deep thought for a minute, then he spoke. "Naruto, Sakura." They looked at him. "I want both of you to be under henge while we're in town, okay?"

Sakura looked like she understood it, but Naruto's face was scrunched in confusion. "Why is that?"

Sakura looked at Naruto without turning her head, "we're heroes here, so if we go in as is, we'll cause a scene and make a big stir. A stir that could easily reach back to Konoha. And you don't want the people who banished you knowing where you're at, right?"

"Ah..." A sober looking Naruto formed the proper handseal and, "Henge!" One poof of smoke later, it was a black haired, brown eyed girl wearing a black jumpsuit that was carrying Tayuya in the blonde's place.

Sakura did likewise, turning into an older brown-haired woman - though still with green eyes - wearing a traveling dress that was earthen brown. "Come on girls, we'll go find Tazuna's house to catch up on old times."

"Actually," Jiraiya said, "we'll be spending the night at an inn."

"Eh? Why?" Sakura asks.

"Look at the sky." Everyone looks at the skyline, the sun almost completely dropped below the horizon and darkness overtaking the hues of red. "Soon it'll be too dark to navigate to Tazuna's house, and there will be few people outside we can ask for directions. I doubt any of you have the way memorized from back then." Dropped shoulders and a shake of two heads was his response. "Then we spend the night at an inn and ask for directions in the morning."

The group continued across the bridge to the trading village on the other side, and then began to wander the streets looking for an inn. Pointing from over Naruto's shoulder, Tayuya said, "there, that one'll do."

Looking where she was pointing, Naruto saw a wooden sign hanging out over the streets, the words 'The Fisherman's Inn' surrounding the carving of a fish's skeleton. "I don't know..." His voice came out higher and smoother than normal. "Looks pretty 'fishy' to me." The other three sweatdropped at the horrible pun.

"Well I don't care, I'm beat," Tayuya said.

Naruto bit his lip to keep from saying anything about him being the one who should be tired from carrying her around most of the day and her just lazing around the whole day. Somehow he knew that comment would get him hit.

"It's as good as anyplace else right now," Jiraiya shrugged as he said. _'Though it lacks the _facilities_ I usually prefer at places I stay for the night, but if I suggest that, these two women will castrate me in the blink of an eye...'_

The group walked into the lit entrance lobby and walked over to the counter with the woman behind it. "Can I help you?" the old woman asked in that kind voice that all good hosts and hostesses seem to be able to produce all the time.

"Yes," Jiraiya said, smiling kindly in return. "I'd like two rooms for the night, one for me and my daughter," he gestured to indicate Sakura, "and the other for my granddaughters," he gestured at Naruto and Tayuya.

"Oh, my," the woman said, worry in her tone, "what happened to the poor dear's legs?"

"Don't worry, she'll be fine until tomorrow." Jiraiya said, sweating at the thought, _'I can't believe I forgot to make up a convincing cover story for her legs.'_ "We just had a little mishap on the trip. We'll be taking her to a good doctor I know tomorrow morning."

The old woman nodded, "Alright then, sign in here, and you'll have to pay up front."

Jiraiya signed them in and paid for them out of his money, and upon receiving the keys and instructions to the rooms, turned and led them to the second floor, before stopping outside a pair of doors opposite each other in the hall. Upon stopping he started speaking, using his dead serious tone again.

"Naruto, after you set Tayuya on the bed, leave the room and wait in the hall with Sakura while I have some words with her in private."

Naruto was about to protest when a voice inside him calmed him. **"If he was going to do anything bad to her, he's had plenty of opportunity to do so already. She should be safe for a few minutes with him, at the least."**

Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya unlocked the door to one of the rooms, then they walked inside. Naruto sat Tayuya, who looked a little nervous, down on the bed and walked out into the hall with Sakura. Jiraiya shut and locked the door behind him.

Tayuya gulped quietly, trying to wet her suddenly dry throat. "S-so what the hell is it, you fuckin' pervert?"

Jiraiya sat on the bed opposite the one she was on, and gave her a serious gaze. "I saw how you were looking at Naruto earlier."

Tayuya choked, "w-WHAT? I don't know what the fuck you're on, but I ain't got fuckin' feelings for the fuck nut."

Jiraiya chuckled, "not what I was referring to, but now that you mention it..."

Tayuya growled and glared at him, "you finish that sentence, fucking pervert, and I swear I'll-"

"Now, now, back to the matter at hand." Jiraiya's tone was serious again. "That look. You were wondering about his motives for wanting to help you, worrying that he'd use you like Orochimaru or that he'd demand some 'favors' in return, right?"

Tayuya nodded her head, although the last worry hadn't actually passed through her head earlier, "yeah, but why do I need to talk to you about this? I'll just question the fuck nut about it later."

Jiraiya sighed, "because that 'fuck nut' won't be able to answer you even if he wanted to. He follows his heart without questioning 'why?'... when you ask him, he'll probably just say 'why not?'. I know how he thinks well enough that I can tell you why he's doing it, though."

Tayuya nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"You acknowledge him. You may insult him with a crude nickname and be hard on him, but you acknowledge Naruto. Not as the Kyuubi or its jinchuuriki, but as a fellow human being. When he realized that, you became one of his 'precious people'. He'd die to heal you if that's what it took. Because he'll do anything to help keep his precious people safe and happy, that's why."

Tayuya was a bit stunned by this revelation, she didn't exactly expect to be one of the kid's precious people. Not now or ever. "Wait, what about before?"

"Hmm?" Jiraiya mumbled.

"When he saved me from those agents of Akatsuki or whatever. I hadn't acknowledged him then, so why?"

"It's also in Naruto's nature to help out those who truly need it..."

"Two more things, Tayuya-chan. One, never mention this conversation to Naruto." Tayuya looked like she wanted to ask 'why the hell not?', but he continued on. "Two...," the room suddenly became stifling from the killing intent Jiraiya was directing at her, and she realized, for the first time in a long time, she was trembling terribly. "If you ever use his faith in you as one of his precious people to stab him in the back..." Jiraiya left the threat hanging for a minute before he let go of his killing intent.

Tayuya found herself gasping for breath she didn't realize she had been holding as Jiraiya went to leave the room. As he opened the door, she croaked out, "Sakura, I need some help."

Hearing her name from Tayuya, Sakura poked her head in curiously. "Yeah, what ya need?"

Tayuya cleared her throat and blushed at what she was about to say, "I haven't gone all day, and I can't exactly ask one of the fucking guys for help going into or coming out of the ladies' room, y'know?"

"Oh! Um... sure, I'll help you."

Konoha Gates

Kakashi arrived at the gates in the dead of night and checked in with the pair of chuunin keeping watch before continuing towards the Hokage Tower. _'The Hokage probably isn't there, but I should still check. Wouldn't want her pounding on me for delivering Naruto's letter one minute later than necessary...'_

The Next Day

Naruto rubbed his head and groaned as he got up. _'It feels like Tayuya-chan was pounding on my head last night, but there's no way she could reach me from her bed.'_

"**This isn't from Tayuya."** The sound of Kyuubi's voice caused a pulsing pain to shoot through his head, making his vision swim. Naruto grit his teeth and silently bore the pain, not wanting to wake Tayuya up.

'_I'm not sure I'd be able to handle her voice with my head splitting open from every sound...'_

"**If you still everything, the pain will be gone in five or ten minutes."**

So Naruto laid perfectly still and tried to not think of anything that would stir up his brain, staring at the ceiling. Sure enough, ten minutes later the pain had died down enough for him to risk a mental conversation with his 'inside friends'.

'_What the heck was that all about?'_

"**That was a side effect of your conscious mind adjusting to the twenty or so Kage Bunshin that dispersed _as soon as_ you fell completely asleep. If you had been awake when it happened, the influx of information would have caused you such pain you would have passed out in a few seconds, and your 'info dump hangover' would have lasted most of the morning."**

'_Good thing I was asleep then.'_

"_Indeed, Naruto-san. Since you were not _forced _unconscious, I was able to remain active in your mindscape and sort a good portion of the information received in order to reduce your pain upon awakening like Kyuubi-sama asked me to."_ Kimimaro spoke in his mind.

Naruto shuddered. _'It could have been _more_ intense?'_ Silence was his answer.

Finally feeling up to it, Naruto sat up in his bed. Looking over, he saw that Tayuya was stirring. A knock on the door interrupted whatever he was about to think. "Are you decent?" Sakura's voice came through the door.

A groggy Tayuya answered, "As fuckin' decent as I'll ever be." Blinking the sleepiness out of her eyes and stretching as well as she could, Tayuya looked over at Naruto and gave a yawn. "Hey, fuck nut, you slept with _that_ on?"

Confused, Naruto looked down at himself, to realize he was still under _henge_ as a girl. _'What... the... hell...'_

"**I'll explain later."**

'_This one better be good...'_

Through the door they heard Sakura say, "Hurry up and get ready to go. We've got to get going soon, Jiraiya's getting antsy to get this whole place done and over with for some reason. So we're getting ready to head out in a few minutes."

Thankful that neither of them needed to get changed, Naruto got up, moved over to her, and put Tayuya back up on his back to travel again.

The Streets of the Village

Naruto was thankful that Jiraiya had made them stay at the hotel for the night, because Tazuna had apparently moved. As Jiraiya followed the directions a random helpful villager had given him, Naruto's feet went on autopilot to follow the white haired man in the Kabuki dancer's costume. His mind was focused on a conversation inside.

'_Explain. Why did I wake up as a girl?'_

"**It's basically a side effect of having me in you. When you use a henge, you don't use the illusion that most shinobi use, you shapeshift into that object or person. Don't get me wrong, you're made of the same stuff and don't change you're genetic code at all or anything like that."**

'_So I'm not really a girl?'_

"**No."**

'_Thank Kami!'_ Naruto felt the tension leave his shoulders at this revelation. Then he got confused again. _'Why didn't it dispel when I fell asleep?'_

"**When you shapeshift, it will only revert if you make it."**

'_But shouldn't the chakra cost of keeping it up have killed me last night then?'_

"**If you were an ordinary human, yes. The moment you had me sealed in you, you became about 10% kitsune, and it seems that the shapeshifting power all kitsune possess was what you got from that. Because you have a kitsune's natural shapeshifting power, you only really expend chakra when changing into or out of the form. The exception is if you assume a form more than three times your own mass, for reasons I won't go into now as it involves a lot of complicated terms and ideas in explaining it."**

'_Huh...'_ Naruto looked up to see themselves standing in front of a large house, Jiraiya knocking on the door.

"Coming!" A boy's cheery voice sounded from inside, and Naruto and Sakura both instantly recognized it as Inari's. The door swung open, forcing Jiraiya to take a quick back step, and standing there was the young boy, slightly taller than when they last saw him. Looking at the four of them, Inari asked "Who are you people?"

"Inari! Don't be rude to guests!" Inari looked sheepish as his mother scolded him, stepping into sight. Jiraiya started scoping her out while she was looking at her son, getting a growl and knuckle-crack from Sakura. Hearing the crack, Tsunami looked up and smiled serenely at the group of ladies and the old man at the door, and beckoned them in.

"Come on in. Inari, show the guests to the living room. I'll get Tazuna and tell him we have visitors... unless you're here to see my fiancé about something?"

"You're engaged, Tsunami-san?" Sakura asked.

"Hai, hai."

The group followed Inari into the living room while Tsunami went upstairs. "So, how do you know my kaa-san?"

"Hmm?" Jiraiya raised his eyebrow.

"I've never seen any of you before, but you called my kaa-san by name. I didn't say it so how did you know it?" Inari looked at the group suspiciously.

Sakura and Naruto looked at Jiraiya, who nodded to the silent question. With two cries of 'Kai!' Naruto and Sakura stood in their rightful forms. Inari would have glomped Naruto with a cry of 'Nii-san!' but Jiraiya grabbed his shoulder.

Inari looked up at him. "In case you didn't notice, he's got a passenger. If you knocked him over you'd probably agitate her injuries. Then you'd get to experience her 'fists of fury'."

Naruto walked over to a couch in the living room and set Tayuya on it, then helped her turn ninety degrees so her legs could lay flat on the couch. He then proceeded to sit on the couch next to her feet. Sakura and Jiraiya sat on a futon, while Inari sat on a cushion next to Naruto.

Before any conversation could start up, Tazuna and Tsunami walked into the living room. Their eyes widen and smiles form on their faces at the sight of two of their visitors. "Naruto! How super for the super hero of Nami to pay us a super visit!"

Tazuna and Tsunami both took seats on chairs in the room. "Hey Tazuna, couldn't break my promise to Inari to visit, you know?"

"Say, Tsunami, was it?" Jiraiya asked, getting a nod. "You said you have a fiancé, so where is the lucky man?"

"He owns a small fishing company. He's out on one of the boats right now, but he should be back sometime early tonight." Sakura noticed Tsunami sounded a bit happier and more energetic whenever she referred to her fiancé.

"He sounds like a great guy. So, a fisherman?" Sakura says.

"Yep. Now are you going to introduce your two friends, or is that a disguise for Sasuke and Kakashi?" Inari said.

"No, no. I'm Jiraiya, and this is Tayuya." Jiraiya said.

Tazuna saw that that was all the information they wanted to give on the matter. "Oh? So what brings you all to Nami, Naruto? I got a feeling you're all here for more than just a super visit."

"Actually, ero-sennin was the one who led us here, and he did it with a purpose, but he never told any of us what it was..."

Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari raised an eyebrow at that. "Gaki! I told you to stop calling me that in public!"

"You'll always be ero-sennin - at least until you stop peeping on women in the hotsprings and writing those perverted books!"

"You... you write those books..." Tsunami's head was tilted so the shadow made it impossible to see her eyes, and her expression was neutral.

Years of experience made Jiraiya cautious despite the lack of the usual killing intent, so it was with a hesitant tone that he answered. "Yes..."

"Will you autograph mine?" Tsunami whipped out her copy of Icha Icha Violence. Tayuya, Sakura, and Naruto had the most gobsmacked expressions on their faces, while Inari was bright red from embarrassment at his mom's open love for the book in front of his hero. Tazuna looked thrown off, as he didn't even know Tsunami read those same books and he resisted the urge to reach into his pocket to make sure that she hadn't swiped the book she was holding from him.

Jiraiya was ecstatic, seeing as he'd just found the ultra-rare open female fan of his perverted works. As he reached out to take the slightly worn book from the woman, she suddenly latched a hand around his wrist. And squeezed. Hard.

In a tone that dropped the room temperature several dozen degrees, Tsunami said, "While I love your works... if I hear of or see you peeping on women again... I'll crush what makes you a man, then rip it of with my bare hands, got it?"

Jiraiya's pale face was rapidly making up and down motions, and the room temperature went back to normal as Tsunami went back to smiling like nothing was wrong in the world. Jiraiya quickly signed the book and gave it back to Tsunami.

Tazuna cleared his throat to bring everyone's attention back to topic. "So, Jiraiya-san, what did you bring them to Nami for?"

"Well you see, we need help with something... and Naruto's newly awakened kekkei genkai has one half the answer." Jiraiya decided to give a series of half-truths to the people in the house, not expecting them to understand the shinobi way of thinking in this case. "He can bring back the apprentice of one Momochi Zabuza temporarily from the dead because of his super rare kekkei genkai. That's the other half we came here for."

The whole of Tazuna's family had very serious and grim expressions on their faces. "You'll have to talk to my future son-in-law about this."

"Why is that?" Jiraiya asked.

"He's a sort of caretaker of those graves... He'll assume grave robbers did it, and if you don't get his approval first, he'll raise a big legal stink over it. Probably charge you with grave robbing and desecration of a body. Best to talk it out with him before you do anything." Tazuna tone left no room for argument.

In Konoha - Hokage's Office

"... and that's it. After that, I managed to make it here without any events of note and reported my return at the tower to be debriefed by you as soon as possible, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said.

Tsunade sat and stared at Kakashi, trying to process all she had been told. _'Jiraiya sent a message? Where is it? And as for ROOT...'_ Tsunade growled mentally at the thought, and the scowl on her face made Kakashi sweat slightly. _'...without proof that Danzo was truly involved, I can't do anything to him directly - yet. And this girl... it's just like Naruto to save an enemy when they're down. And Naruto having a kekkei genkai, the same one as The Sage of Six Paths? This is all a lot to take in- eh? What's Kakashi doing?'_

Seeing Kakashi fishing through his pouch for something, Tsunade growled out, "if you're fishing for that smut in the middle of a debriefing, _Ka-Ka-Shi..._ I'll give you the same treatment I reserve for Jiraiya."

Kakashi sweat in fear at the threat, glad for once to have a real reason to be digging through his pouch. Just as Tsunade's started to rise from her seat, Kakashi fingers found what he was looking for and he whipped the items in front of him in hopes of staving off a beating.

Seeing the two envelopes and the message scroll in his hands, Tsunade calmed with the thought, _'of course. He already told me the three of them had messages for home.'_

Looking at the two envelopes, Kakashi placed the one labeled 'to Ino-chan' back in his pouch, thinking he'd deliver that one later. Then he handed Tsunade the remaining envelope and scroll and stood there, waiting to be dismissed.

Looking at the envelope, Tsunade sees it held the writing 'to Tsunade-baa-chan'. A tick mark formed on her forehead as she glared at Kakashi, who put his hands up in a placating motion and said, "No need to kill the messenger, right Hokage-sama?" He followed the question with a very nervous laugh.

Tsunade gave a frustrated sigh, then tore the envelope open and unfolded the letter inside. Looking over the greeting, she frowns again.

_dear baa-chan,_

_A lot has happened since I saw you last, so I thought I'd let you know all about it, seeing as you're the closest thing I have to a family right now. First off, shortly after I left the village, I activated and discovered my kekkei genkai! Seeing as Kakashi probably told you all about it that he knows in his mission report, but there's a lot of interesting side effects to it. Like having another person in my head, and being able to hear Kyuubi while I'm still conscious and not in a life-threatening situation._

_Don't worry, baa-chan. She's been friendly and helpful since my kekkei genkai activated, and she hasn't done anything to try to corrupt me. Though that might just be because with other people around, they could see me acting odd and prevent me from being corrupted. Don't worry though, if she tries to corrupt me, I won't let her. Dattebayou!_

_Jiraiya's helping to train me and I'll be sticking with him and Sakura for a while, so you don't got to worry too much about me. Oh, and I made a new friend! Her name's Tayuya and she used to work for Orochimaru, but she's okay now. Although she curses at everyone and everything._

_Oh, and I died saving her and Kakashi from some agent of Akatsuki's attack when we were rescuing her from their hidden place in an abandoned village. Well, not me, but one of my bodies. But I still felt every last bit of it. Dieing hurts a lot, y'know._

_Well, gotta go soon. I'll write next chance I got, baa-chan._

_I'll be greater than any Hokage that ever was,_

_Uzumaki Naruto. Dattebayo!_

Tsunade cleared her head, then tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever her old teammate was going to tell her. She smeared some blood across the seal on the scroll, idly wondering just how and where her teammate had gotten the blood for the seal to use as a reference to her. As the seal disappeared and the scroll loosened, she shrugged it off as some obscure part of his spy network that allowed him to get his hands on some blood sample from a hospital or the like. She grabbed the loose end of the scroll with one hand and the 'handle' with the other and pulled them apart with a flourish.

Kakashi watched as calmness gave way to surprise on the Godaime Hokage's face, which gave way to slight shock. He didn't know what was in the scroll she was reading that was causing this reaction, but it was clearly throwing his esteemed leader for such a loop that she was going to forget to dismiss him for awhile. Still, he wouldn't risk her ire by taking out his current Icha Icha volume to read. He wasn't _that_ confident in her being out of it.

That Night - Tazuna's House

The four of them were still sitting in the living room, Jiraiya talking with Tazuna about his books and Naruto and Sakura talking with Inari about _not_ turning out a pervert like his grandfather _or_ mother. Tayuya sat there, feeling completely out of the loop. Tsunami, meanwhile, was in the kitchen busying herself while anxiously waiting for her fiancé to get home.

The sound of the front door being unlocked and opened caused everyone in the living room to go quiet. They sat and listened to hear Tsunami rush towards the entrance, and a cry of "Honey! I missed you!" Followed by the sound of a rather loud kiss.

Inari made a face and an 'eww...' noise at that.

All of them look over to the entrance to the living room, hearing the steps Tsunami's fiancé made as he walked towards them. They all noticed the shadow of a large man as he approached the corner that would reveal his identity to the four.

As he walked past the corner, he froze in place and his eyes widened. Sakura's eyes had widened and her jaw was in her lap, while her right arm was outstretched, her finger shaking and pointing at him. Jiraiya's eyes had narrowed in suspicious recognition, but he made no other move. Naruto's eyes were dinner plates, one arm was pointing over the back of the couch at the figure, and his mouth was open wide. Tayuya simply looked confused by everyone around her.

At the same time, both Naruto and the man in the entranceway shouted the same word. "YOU!"

In Konoha

With an envelope in one hand and book in the other, Kakashi walks down the street towards Team Ten's training grounds. Seeing Ino about to pass him, he whips the hand with envelope in front of her path without seeming to look up.

Ino grabs the letter on reflex to block, and sees that the label indeed says it's for her. Opening it to read while on the way to her home, she recognizes her former-best-friend-turned-rival-hopefully-turned-best-friend-again's handwriting immediately.

_Dear Ino-chan,_

_I don't know how to tell you this after all this time, but our rivalry for Sasuke is over. Not as in I-won-you-lost over, but more like I-don't-care-about-it over. After what he's done, I'll still try to bring him back, but that's for Naruto and Konoha, not for true love or anything like that. If you still want to pursue him, go ahead. But what I really want to say is, can we be friends again? I know I was the one who threw it away last time, but I'm sorry I did._

_I still expect us to be rivals, in the spirit of pushing each other to greater heights. In that mindset - TRY TO TOP ME NOW, INO-BUNTA! I'M APPRENTICE TO A SANNIN AND WE'RE ON A TRAINING TRIP!_

Here there was a drawing of a face with Sakura's hairstyle. It had one eyelid pulled down with a finger and it's tongue was sticking out, as if blowing a raspberry. Ino was stuck somewhere between fuming at the ending, jealousy at Sakura's status as apprentice to a Sannin, and happiness at having her friend back.

Tazuna's House

"HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!" Naruto's finger pointed at the still intimidating form of Momochi Zabuza.

"That's kind of a long story..." Zabuza scratched the back of his neck nervously, his manner seeming different than before.

"We certainly have time to hear it," Jiraiya said, motioning for Zabuza to sit and explain.

Zabuza could feel himself sweating as he recognized just _who_ was speaking to him. "Hai, Jiraiya-sama."

Sitting in a chair opposite the couch Naruto and Tayuya were sitting on, Zabuza settled in for a lengthy explanation. Looking at Naruto, he said, "you remember Haku's natural skill with medical herbs, right gaki?"

Naruto got in a thoughtful pose, then nodded. "Haku designed a special medical pill, of which only one was made, which works in three stages to bring a shinobi back from potentially mortal wounding. However, it doesn't work on its own. I had that pill, a soldier pill, and a blood replenishing pill inside a special capsule in a hollowed-out tooth. When I was fighting the mercenaries and killing Gato, the force the kunai exerted on my lower jaw wound up breaking the capsule open and crushing the pills. I probably swallowed them by accident, but I did."

"Hmm, how does this pill work?" Jiraiya had his notebook out, planning to send the notes about this pill to Tsunade, in hopes she might reproduce its effects.

"The first stage puts the person in a near-death state. When I felt dizzy and tried to stumble back to Haku's body, I assumed the dizziness and weakness was from blood loss, so I was able to fight it. If I hadn't fought it, it would have put me out in a couple seconds."

"Yeah, I know of a few herbs and drugs that can have that effect. The slowed heartbeat of the near-death state is to keep you from dying from blood loss or poison spreading before the you can be treated by a doctor or medic-nin." Jiraiya said.

Zabuza nodded, "yeah. Anyway, once I passed out, stage two of the pill takes effect. Using the blood replenishing pill to keep the blood levels up and the soldier pill to produce chakra to power the process, stage two of the pill repairs the wounds on the body forcefully by rapid regeneration that starts automatically a few hours after I was put out."

Jiraiya nodded, but frowned at this. _'That sounds like Tsunade-hime's 'Genesis of Rebirth' technique. But even used in regular situations, that puts a great strain on her body after it's done. Adding the strain caused by being put in a near-death state... what cost is there for using this pill?'_

Naruto, Sakura, and even Tayuya were leaning in, listening to Zabuza with rapt fascination.

"The third stage, awakens and briefly revitalizes the body, temporarily putting it at peak health for about five minutes, so if we were under attack when I came out of it, I could flee or fight off the threat before the weakness of recovering from the near-death state set in. I was able to use a shunshin without handseals to escape from my burial spot when I came to, then made it to a clinic in the village before I collapsed."

"Sugoi..." Naruto said, and Tayuya silently nodded.

Jiraiya looked a bit more cautious of the wonder the younger two had, and Sakura noticed this. "Jiraiya-sensei?"

Everyone looked at Jiraiya. "So, Zabuza, what was the price to live?"

"After that initial 'five minute awakening' period, the chakra coils collapse and become unusable for the duration of the person's life. My body still produces chakra, but I can't use any of it (6)."

Jiraiya nodded. "That certainly explains the civilian life." The other ninja in the room were floored by the ramifications of taking the, until then, 'wondrous healing pill'.

"Only half of it." Jiraiya raised his eyebrow at that. "I figured if I lived a honest and good life from then on, I might have a chance to be able to go to the same place as Haku when I die."

Jiraiya gave a grunt and nod, and closed his eyes while crossing his arms, a slight frown to his face. Naruto recognized it as his 'deep thought' pose. Jiraiya was thinking, _'So this is why Tazuna wanted us to wait. I can see why Zabuza would be pissed if we took Haku's body without getting permission from him first. While we could easily deal with him in his current state, I doubt Naruto would be willing to take any part in such actions. Especially now that Zabuza is part of Tazuna's family. So how the hell are we supposed to convince this guy to _willingly_ let us unearth and use Haku's corpse.'_

"Say what you're going to say." Jiraiya opened his eyes and looked at Zabuza. "Everyone in the room is looking at you like they're waiting on you to say something, so what is it that even Tazuna-giri no chichi(7) and Inari-mama-musuko(8) know that I don't?"

'_I suppose it best to start at the logical beginning...'_ "Have you ever heard of the Rin'neggan?" Zabuza simply looked confused at the word. "Or better yet of the most famous man to ever wield the doujutsu, the Sage of the Six Paths?" Zabuza's eyes went wide at that.

"Every ninja worth their hitae-ate knows about the man who practically invented the ninja world as we know it," Zabuza said, uncertain of where this was going. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"His kekkei genkai, the Rin'neggan, allowed him to regenerate and reanimate a corpse as an extension of himself. There's more it could do, but that's irrelevant at the moment." Zabuza looked more confused than before, but at the same time he was suspicious of where this was going. "Naruto is a descendant of the Sage of the Six Paths, and recently activated his Rin'neggan."

Zabuza looked surprised for just a moment, but he seemed to rapidly piece the facts before him together. "So you brought him here for my apprentice, Haku, huh?" His eyes were shut, his mouth was in a frown, and his... 'bald eyebrows' were pointed down together.

'_It looks like Zabuza is gonna shoot this down. And I was looking forward to talking to Haku again... wonder what he'd think of me now...'_

"**Naruto, that's the answer! Tell Zabuza word for word what I tell you to say."**

"Zabuza-san." Zabuza looked over at Naruto, who appeared to be having mixed feelings about what he was about to say. "How'd you feel about talking to Haku again. Not just body but... mind and soul, too."

Zabuza, if anything, looked absolutely livid, like he was about to kill Naruto with his bare hands. "How...how dare you offer me something no one could deliver!"

"Actually, I can." Zabuza looked about ready to lunge, so Naruto rushed the rest out. "How do you think I learn to use their techniques and skills? Who do you think teaches me that?" Zabuza's anger seemed to take a pause at that. "I already have the mind and soul of my first body in my mindscape..."

"What proof do I have that you're telling the truth?" Zabuza had his arms crossed across his chest and leveled a glare at Naruto's eyes.

"_I know what to say, Naruto-san,"_ Kimimaro's voice sounded in his head.

Naruto shut his eyes as if in concentration before he spoke. "On the day the Kaguya clan sacrificed virtually all their members in a mad attack on Kirigakure no Sato itself... you were leaving the village with Haku by your side when a young boy of that clan confronted you, asking you if you were a Kiri-nin while he held a knife made from his bone in front of him in an aggressive-defensive stance. You told him no while gripping the hilt of your zanbatou, and he apologized to you, then ran past the two of you and continued on the path toward Kiri. That boy is my first body, and his name was Kaguya Kimimaro.

At this point, Naruto opened his eyes to see a contemplative look on Zabuza's face. "...you'll let me talk to Haku, unhindered?"

"Yeah. Besides, that'd be what Haku would want, too."

"...alright. I'll agree to this, for now. But if Haku doesn't agree with it-"

"-I'll sever the bond and let Haku return to the right place immediately. I don't go back on my word, that's my nindo!" Naruto held out a hand and Zabuza shook it, looking slightly dazed by the series of events that had unfolded since he came home.

Jiraiya let out a breath of relief he didn't know he had been holding, this issue having been resolved without force having to be applied. _'Not like Naruto would want to go through with it if it came to that here, but with Naruto's capacity to bring out the best in people... I doubt it ever would have come to that anyway...'_

"Well, given how late it is, it'll be best if we take care of this tomorrow morning, if that's alright, Zabuza-san?" Jiraiya said, looking at Zabuza.

Zabuza nodded and said, "yeah, I can take tomorrow morning off, seeing as we're not going out on the boats. I know how to explain it to the guys under me without raising questions. Besides, they don't need me to prepare today's catch for sale to the merchants and buyers we have or even to make the actual sales." Seeing the question in the others' eyes, Zabuza spoke up, "You don't expect me to not be there when you pull Haku out, do you? I'm going to make sure you don't desecrate the body, no matter what you say of your intentions..."

Jiraiya nodded, then said, "Well, we better get back to the hotel. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for all of us."

The three with him gave an assent, then got together to leave. Inside the doorway Jiraiya had to remind them to put the henge up again in order to get back into the hotel without a situation coming up.

In Konoha

Four ROOT ANBU, two women and two men, stood at attention before Danzo, who was standing with a folder in his hand. Danzo handed the folder to one of the women, then spoke. "You four are to go on a long-term, zero support information gathering mission. All information on your target and any known affiliates or abilities is in that folder. When you have gathered sufficient information, _one_ of you will return to me to report while the other three continue following the target. Unless orders from me indicate otherwise, you are not to engage the target or any allies of the target. This supersedes all other orders from me below Level 6. If an order to kill an ally of the target exists above that, make certain the target doesn't see that it was you that did it and remove all evidence of your actions. Is that clear?"

"Hai, Danzo-sama!" The four chorused. The woman he had given the folder to sealed it into a storage seal on her arm, then made with the others to leave to carry out their mission, planning to only open the folder and share its information once they came to a secure location outside of Konoha.

Next Morning - Haku's Grave Site

Zabuza stood back watching as Naruto and Jiraiya carefully dug out Haku's grave. Due to the fact that Haku had been buried while wrapped in a blanket rather than any kind of coffin, they had to be careful. They had gotten close enough that they had started to use gardening shovels, since using a full shovel could damage the body more - or worse, they could wind up crushing the eye sockets, which would make the body unusable for Naruto.

Kneeling in the dirt and shoveling it aside with the tool in his hands, Naruto decided to ask the question that had been bothering him since they had arrived at the gravesite that morning. "Hey, Zabuza-san... where'd your sword go?"

"Mist hunter-nin took it." Naruto stopped digging for a moment in surprise. "Given that they expected that I'd sooner die than leave it away from myself, finding the sword was stronger proof to them that I was dead than if they had killed me themselves. They took it back to Kiri so another shinobi could take up the blade as their own."

"You don't even sound all that upset that it's gone, Zabuza-san," Jiraiya said.

Zabuza shrugged his shoulders, "Since they're self-convinced I'm dead, even if they see me now, they'd assume my uncanny resemblance was just an odd coincidence. I'm perfectly safe now, and so is my fiancé and her family. Since I plan to live a good civilian's life now, I don't need it anymore anyway."

Several more minutes of digging on their knees later, Jiraiya finally came to the filthy blanket Haku was in. Pulling out a scroll he had prepared last night, Jiraiya sealed the body into a scroll just like the ones Naruto had sealed the corpses of the Sound Four in. "Well, we got it. Now to refill the grave with its dirt."

"Hey, ero-sennin." Jiraiya looked over at Naruto, who was looking at him with his 'thinking face' while they were climbing out of the hole they had dug. "Why aren't we just having me use my eyes to bring them back as soon as possible? Instead of sealing all of them into scrolls, I mean. Is it a matter of focusing on one at a time or something like that?"

"I'll explain at Tazuna's house, gaki. Not out here." Jiraiya nodded at Zabuza. "Don't worry, he won't be using that on Haku for a while, so you can go to work now."

Zabuza nodded and left to go to work, taking the toad hermit at his word. Jiraiya and Naruto began refilling the grave of its dirt.

Meanwhile, Field Near Tazuna's House

Sakura panted hard as she pushed herself through the training regime from hell, all the while the kage bunshin of Jiraiya's was 'cheerleading' her through the tough spots. By criticizing her form, speed, strength, and stamina non-stop. If she didn't have these exercises to keep herself busy with, she would have either mauled him or broken down completely.

Tazuna's House

Naruto and Jiraiya were sitting in chairs in the living room, facing each other and virtually alone in the house. "So, Jiraiya-sensei, why is it that I can't immediately bring up Haku's body with my eyes?"

Jiraiya sighed, leaning forward and resting his weight on his arms, which were pressing against just above his knees. "Naruto, it's time to talk about the... 'rules' the Rin'neggan must abide by."

"Are you talking about rules for how you want me to use the eyes or rules like natural limitations?" Naruto squinted at Jiraiya while asking this.

"The natural rules. The first of which limits the speed at which you can safely gain new bodies." Jiraiya leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest. "Basically, your kekkei genkai requires time to make an 'anchor' for the foreign mind and soul to connect to and to recover from the last time it activated an anchor. The more active connections you possess, the longer this period is. Based on scrolls I was able to find when I was training Nagato, scrolls written by a student of the Sage of the Six Paths who recorded his sensei's teachings, I can say that it will take about three weeks after you got Kimimaro's body before you can take a second body, two months after that for the third, three and a half for the fourth, and so on. If you 'master' a body, however, since the mind and soul of the of that body's original owner will return to the place they belong, the next body can be taken instantly since you have a pre-existing anchor that was just freed up of its previous host."

"... you said 'safely' gain new bodies... what happens if I don't wait and try to gain a new body?"

"You'll gain the body, but since there's no anchor for the mind and soul, that'll go back to the afterlife immediately, and you'll be stuck figuring out how to master the body on your own. And on top of that, since you promised Zabuza a talk with Haku..." Jiraiya left the statement at that, before continuing on. "And although you could technically gather as many bodies as you have the time to do so while you live, there is a limit to the types you can gather. For example, Kimimaro is a kenjutsu body and an earth element body, right?" Naruto nodded his head at that. "Any future bodies cannot have that particular combination of jutsu type and energy type. You can have other kenjutsu bodies as long as they aren't an earth element energy type, and you can have different earth element bodies as long as they aren't a kenjutsu type, get it?"

Naruto looked mixed up for a minute before he nodded, but then looked confused again. "When you say 'energy type', don't you mean 'elemental type'? And if I can have as many bodies as I have time to gather in life, then eventually I'll have a small army all my own, superior to Kage Bunshin in virtually every way, right?"

"No to both questions." Naruto frowned, looking more confused than before. "For the first, there are more than just the elemental types of energy that the Rin'neggan recognizes. As some examples, any genjutsu body you may be able to get will likely be of the 'psyche' or Psi energy type, and any medic-ninjutsu body you get will probably be either regenerative energy type, corrosive energy type, or chakra manipulation type. There are technically many different energy types besides the elemental ones."

Naruto nodded, as that made plenty of sense. _'I'd have a hard time guessing what element a genjutsu specialist or a medic-nin was, so I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't be an element type of body...'_

"As for the small army all your own, unless it's going to be comprised of seven or fewer members, you can forget about it. Because the maximum number of 'secondary' bodies you can have out at a time is six." Naruto's head dropped. "There are also rules about the bodies you call out, and how you call them out or name them."

Naruto looked back up. "So what are the rules, and what do you mean 'name them'?"

"I'd better answer the second question first. Every body you gain will have at least two names, an individual name and a 'group name'. The individual name, obviously, applies to that body and only that body so it _must_ be unique for each body. The other rule about individual names is that they have to end with the word 'Realm'. The 'group name' applies to a set of bodies to make it easier to call them out all at once, and it is always 'number of bodies in this group' followed by 'Path of' followed by a keyword that you associate with that group of bodies to make it easy to remember. Each body can have multiple group names if you assign it to multiple groups. When you gain a new body you have to touch it and think what you want its individual name to be, as well as what group or groups you want it to be part of, before you look it in its eyes or else your subconscious will assign names and groups without you consciously knowing what they are."

Naruto looked like he understood what Jiraiya was saying to him so far, so Jiraiya continued. "When you call out your bodies, you can call them by individual or group names, but since you can only call out three 'sets' at once, it's best to make your groups around getting the most out possible, six bodies. There is another limiter on the bodies you call out though. If you bring out a body, no other body you bring out can have either the same jutsu type or the same energy type. So if you call out Kimimaro, you can't call out any other kenjutsu bodies you may have and you can't call out any other earth element bodies you may have. You also can't call out any groups that have a member who would break this rule. So obviously, when making groups of bodies, you don't want to make it more than six or have any members who are the same jutsu or energy type as any of the other members or else you won't be able to call out the group. If you can't call out the group, there's no point in making it, is there?"

Naruto nodded slowly, as if uncertain if he understood but not wanting to admit it. Jiraiya figured, _'if he doesn't understand it yet, I'll let Kyuubi explain it to him later.'_

"So, anything else we're going to talk about here and now?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded his head. "Yeah. We might as well take this opportunity to talk out some details regarding the training for your eyes..."

"Like what?"

"What you'll focus on training in first, what order you'll activate your bodies in, what you'll name them, any other bodies you can think of that we can seek out for the collection - and I do have some suggestions for all of this, but you're your own boss now so it's up to you in the end..."

Naruto got a focused look on his face, and sat in thought for a minute before responding. "...well, obviously, Haku will be the next body I activate, since Zabuza will be waiting on the conversation I promised, and the longer I wait to do that the longer we'll be stuck here... but after Haku, I don't know who should be next... I guess I'll figure out that one when the time comes... For names, I guess Haku's will be 'Ice Realm' and I'll probably put that one in the same group as Kimimaro, so it'll be in the 'Paths of Sacrifice' group... Sakon and Ukon... 'Twin Realm', also the 'Paths of Sacrifice'... Kidomaru, 'Spider Realm', though I'm not sure about the group for him... Jirobo... probably 'Giant Realm' or something like that. I'd prefer to work on their energy types before I work on their technique types, y'know. Other bodies..." Naruto appeared to be deep in thought as he considered where he could look for other bodies.

"I know of four bodies that might work for this, if you're okay with my ideas..." Naruto gave a nod to Jiraiya, who pulled out a map of the elemental countries and set it on the coffee table in front of them. Then he pointed to a spot on the map and began talking. "Here at this temple, there's a monk buried. He trained me in fuuinjutsu when I was young, and my apprentice Minato learned under him for about a year to supplement what I taught him about fuuinjutsu. The _only_ reason I'm considering using his body has to do with a conversation I had with him during the last 'Great Shinobi War'..."

_Flashback_

_"Is it true, Jiraiya-chan? That you're training a Rin'neggan user? And that he may be the one the Elder Toad Sage told of in his prophecy?"_

_"Hai, Uyeda-sensei. I'll be returning to him soon to finish his training and take him as a real apprentice."_

_Uyeda shuffled in his robes a minute before pulling out a thick, heavy and old looking scroll. Which he tossed to Jiraiya. "Those are the recordings of a student of the Sage of Six Paths."_

_Jiraiya held the scrolls with something akin to reverence. All the other sources he had on the Rin'neggan were merely ancient reports of people who observed it in passing during the time of the Six Paths Sage. _This_ was on a whole other level._

_"Jiraiya-chan." Jiraiya looked at his one-time sensei. "Should I pass away before the prophecy comes to pass, I am willing to have my body be one to help the child of the prophecy."_

_Flashback End_

"Should he die while I was still alive, he wanted to teach the descendant of the Six Paths Sage as one of his bodies. Seeing as Nagato died before he did, though... well Nagato never got his body, but I'm certain he would have wanted you to."

Naruto looked stunned. Not that Jiraiya could blame him. "Ero-sennin..." Jiraiya scowled at this. "You mean... you want me to learn from the man who taught you _and_ my dad about fuuinjutsu, the specialty of both of you? How could I say no to that?"

Jiraiya smiled. "You can't really. Another body I can think of belongs to a student of your father's, Rin, for medical techniques. Although you should never show or mention this one to Kakashi if you see him, seeing as she was his teammate, and she'll be hard to get to, since her body was secretly buried around _here_." Naruto looked at where Jiraiya was pointing on the map, and gulped nervously. The spot was well within the borders of _Tsuchi no Kuni_.

"I thought it wasn't a good idea for me to travel anywhere near Iwagakure no Sato, Ero-sennin! Are you getting senile on me?"

Jiraiya glared at Naruto to shut him up. "Gaki, listen up. While it may be dangerous for _you_ or me to go into Tsuchi no Kuni, due to me and your father's parts in the war with Iwa, your other bodies will not look anything like you, so they won't be associated with the Yondaime like you would. The ideal body for this job would be either Haku's or Uyeda's bodies once you get them up to an acceptable level for this task. Mainly because all your other bodies will be inhuman looking due to the curse seals they bare."

Naruto blinked, then nodded. "I guess that makes sense... but wait!" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "How... what... you said that this 'Rin' was a she, right?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"Well..." Naruto blushed. "Is it really alright to, you know, take a body of the female gender? Being that I'm a guy and all..."

Jiraiya got a lecherous grin. "Such naughty thoughts from the one who calls _me_ perverted? I wonder how Tayuya and Sakura would react to you thinking of doing _that_ with your other body?"

"W-whAT?! ERO-SENNIN! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN!" Jiraiya just held his sides and laughed at Naruto's face as Naruto tried to reign in his temper. "What I'm worried about is... cleaning and clothing. Unless sending a body to the place that they go to regain their energy automatically cleans the body and it clothing, as well as repairs any damage to the clothing, I'll have to manually wash the body and/or change clothes on it... I doubt this 'Rin' would be too happy about some guy seeing her body, much less touching it... and then there's the other thing..."

Jiraiya waited patiently while his student grew redder in the face by the second. Jiraiya noticed Naruto wasn't expressing anger at the moment, so he raised his eyebrow at Naruto's increasing redness. "Which is?" Jiraiya somehow managed to ask without any perverted undertones in his voice or facial expression.

"Well... ever since I got Kimimaro's body, he's been able to talk to me in my mind. He doesn't just respond to my thoughts, but also to things I see and hear, which means he can see and hear through my eyes and ears. Which means if I take up a girl's body, she'll see me whenever I got to do those things, too. Or at least until I've mastered all she has to teach me..."

Jiraiya stared at Naruto a minute. Then threw his head back and laughed heartily, before clapping him on the shoulder and saying, in a jesting voice, "that's called 'a fair trade'."

Naruto just glared at Jiraiya for a minute, his left eye twitching. "So who are the other bodies you're talking about?"

Jiraiya pointed to a part of the map, Kyoukai no Kuni (9) - a country with an army under its daimyo's command instead of having a ninja village. "A clan of 'wandering-nin' that makes its home in this country has an interesting kekkei genkai that, combined with your Rin'neggan, could potentially give you a truly unlimited army at your disposal... the Kazama clan (10). Also, about two months ago a missing-nin belonging to the Kurama clan was killed by one of my spies, who kept the body in a scroll like the ones I gave you, so I could return the body to Konoha when I come by to pick it up. We'll meet up with him around here." Jiraiya pointed to another area of the map, in Ocha no Kuni (11). "What about you? Any powerful bodies you can think of?"

"There _might_ be some in Yuki no Kuni, and I know of some ninja bodies somewhere in Ocha no Kuni - although those four aren't even worth the effort to get, but the only other place I know of any dead ninja bodies is in Konoha, like the past Hokage and such, and maybe other ninja villages, but I'd have no idea where they keep the bodies of their ninja, if they don't simply cremate them."

"... that's right, you haven't been on many missions involving enemy nin outside the village yet. I guess we can try Yuki no Kuni, seeing as I needed to eventually talk to the actress there about starring in my movie." Jiraiya had another of his lecherous grins on as he said the last part to himself.

Naruto got fed up with listening to it, so he decided to make one last point. "Is that all we had to talk about for now, Jiraiya-sensei?"

Jiraiya nodded, then asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, huh? And no witnesses around to see it..."

"I only call you that 'cause you've been good about teaching me lately, instead of running off to do perverted activities like you usually do."

Jiraiya winced at that, recognizing what he meant. The summoning 'training' and Rasengan 'training' he did for the kid basically was just him giving Naruto a few sentences of instructions, then abandoning Naruto to his own devices to learn it while he went and enjoyed himself by various perverted means.

With a poof, the Naruto he'd been talking to disappeared, and Jiraiya found himself confused for a moment. _'If this Naruto was a kage bunshin, then where's the real-'_ A sudden memory popped in his mind. When he'd gotten Naruto this morning from the room he'd shared with Tayuya, another Naruto had stayed behind to talk with her about something. Jiraiya had assumed that the one with _her_ was the kage bunshin, but it seemed the opposite was true.

Jiraiya jumped to his feet and ran out of the house, heading for the Fisherman's Inn. _'He better not be planning to use that complicated of a fuuinjutsu without my supervision.'_

At the Fisherman's Inn

"... so, is that all you wanted to know, Tayuya-chan?"

Tayuya resisted, once again, the urge to pound Naruto for calling her _chan_. He'd been doing it all day as he stayed here to answer all her questions about her being healed, the details of the method, and various other questions that she had for him. "...y'know what, fuck nut? I think I'll take you and your foxy friend up on your offer. I ain't got anything to fucking lose, and a hell of a lot to gain... so why not?"

"You sure, Tayuya-chan?" Tayuya's eyebrows twitched. "Once I start it, there won't be much chance of going back."

"Of course I'm sure, fuck not. Stop trying to change my mind and get to work on the fucking seal thing."

Naruto made three kage bunshin and then picked Tayuya up off her bed. While the clones were moving the beds to make as much room on the floor as possible, Naruto gently set Tayuya down in the center of the open floor. "Lay on your back and move as little as possible. It'd be horribly bad if you smudged any of the kanji or runes for the seal, since that could screw up the effects completely."

As Tayuya lay there and Naruto began drawing a complex diagrams of runes and kanji in his own blood all around her under instruction from Kyuubi, a puzzling thought ran through Tayuya's mind. She spoke without moving anything but her mouth and jaw, "Oi, fuck nut!" Naruto stopped his drawing to look at her. "Why do you need this seal when you obviously didn't need it for Kimimaro's body?"

Naruto got a puzzled look on his face as he directed the question inward at his tenant. _'Tayuya-chan's right. Why _do_ I need to draw this seal?'_

**"Easy. Repeat what I say to you to her..."**

_'I hate all this being the middle man stuff.'_

_"Best get used to it Naruto-san. When Haku comes here, you'll probably be doing it a lot for Zabuza." _Kimimaro's voice rang out in his head.

"Two reasons. Youkai _normally_ damages a body that still has a soul inside of it, so part of this is to make the youkai behave as if yours didn't. The other reason is to help Kyuubi control the youkai that'll be pumped into you so she can use it to heal you as well as snapping the curse seal's hold over you instead of just letting it do whatever it feels like inside of you."

Naruto went back to drawing in his own blood as Tayuya gave a 'Hn.' in response, accepting the answer. As Naruto finished up the seal, he froze as if something was wrong, alarming Tayuya. "What is it, fuck nut? Don't tell me you screwed up the seal or something..."

Naruto looked at her and said, "No. The kage bunshin with Jiraiya just dispelled itself. I was sorting out some of the information so I didn't have to deal with it all later. Now let's get this technique under way." Naruto sat down and formed the handseals Kyuubi told him to while channeling her youkai instead of his chakra, then at the end of the chain of handseals he slapped both hands down on two particular runes on the outside edge of the seal.

_**'I can't quite shake the feeling there's something I've forgotten here... but it must just be that I haven't needed to do something like this in a very long time. The seal and handseals have been made perfectly, so everything should work just fine.'**_ Kyuubi pondered

The whole room glowed with an eerie red light, coming from the seal and from the two tails of youkai that were coming out of Naruto's stomach, directly from the Shiki Fuuin. Those two tails seemed to stab into Tayuya, who merely winced in discomfort at the sensation. It was like being in a shower with the water just a tiny bit too hot for comfort. As the seal ran its course, the core of Tayuya's body began to glow with a bright light blinding Naruto so that he closed his eyes and forcing Tayuya herself to close her eyes if she didn't want to lose her eyesight.

In the Hidden Base of Otogakure no Sato

Orochimaru sat rigid for a moment, catching the attention of Kabuto, who was with him to make certain that he recovered from his recent switch of bodies as quickly as possible, as well as Sasuke and the jounin who was training him before Orochimaru recovered enough to do so personally.

"Is something the matter, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked, preparing to do a diagnostic jutsu to determine if something was going wrong with the new body.

Orochimaru waved away Kabuto's glowing green hand with a laugh. "Kukuku... it seems Tayuya-chan _survived_ for longer than we thought. I just felt something forcefully break the curse seal I placed upon her. What's more... the only way that would work was if she willingly allowed someone to remove it from her. You know what to do, Kabuto."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto left the room to inform the Oto special hunter nin unit that Tayuya was alive and had willingly broken her bonds with Otogakure no Sato. Such a high security risk member would require an immediate and violent extermination before she could go spreading the secrets of Orochimaru's.

Sasuke looked on, unsure of how to respond to the fact that he had just heard that it was, in fact, entirely possible to remove the curse seal. He was afraid someone might do so to him, stunting his power, but also found some hope that he could get it removed before Orochimaru could take his body over.

At the Great Naruto Bridge

Kanaye Yamamoto and his two partners arrived just in time to feel the wave of youkai radiating from Nami no Kuni. It gave them pause in their chase of their master's future puppet to feel the power of a biju. They had met up with each other when Yamamoto came back from following one of the false paths to the point of divergence. The woman had been able to figure out the true path the group they were following had taken, and Yamamoto had filled the two in on what had happened since he last saw them while they were chasing the group down.

Now realizing that there was either a biju in human form or a jinchuuriki involved, they decided to send Yamamoto to inform Sasori of the full depth of the situation as well as ask for help or orders for the now more complex problem. Seeing as he could literally fly to and back from Sasori-sama's location.

(1) - Yamamoto = this name means 'at the base of the mountain', making it more believable as a name native to Tsuchi no Kuni than Hi no Kuni. Since I have an OC named this, I won't be calling 'Tenzo' by this name, as is done in canon.

(2) - Kaibutsu Katachi no Jutsu: Katachi Sho = Monstrous Form Technique: Form One.

(3) - Fuuja Houin = Evil Suppressor 

(4) - what surviving family Sakura had as a child is uncertain, but given her sheltered upbringing and civilian family background, I felt it safe to assume she got to have grandparents as a small child

(5) - like Deidara's Exploding Clay Clone did right before it exploded in Shipuuden.

(6) - similar to Rock Lee's condition, has chakra but is unable to mold it due to a problem with his coils.

(7) - giri no chichi = father-in-law.

(8) - mama-musuko = stepson.

(9) - Kyoukai no Kuni - Boundary Country. This is a massive country that wraps around the north, west, and northwest parts of the elemental countries (just outside the border of the map shown when Kakashi is describing the Elemental Countries during the early Wave Arc in the anime). It does not possess any ninja village, but has an army of ninja, samurai, and soldiers serving under the diamyo directly, as well as a large number of mercenary clans of wandering-nin. This country acts as a buffer zone between the elemental countries and the Demon Wastelands. More info will come up about Kyoukai no Kuni and the Demon Wastelands when Naruto and company travel there, although they'll also feature largely in another fanfic I'm working on (Naruto #7).

(10) - guess what the given name of the guy that Naruto's getting from this clan is gonna be... I'll give you three guesses. Also, try to guess what _kind_ of kekkei genkai I've given this clan (Take as many guesses as you want until I reveal it in a future chapter).

(11) - Ocha no Kuni - Tea Country. (You know, the mission with Morino Idate, Ibiki's little brother, took place here)

Author's Endnote: What will happen with ROOT, Oto, the Akatsuki underling trio, and Sasori all having eyes drawn to Naruto's current location? What was bothering Kyuubi as they performed the seal to help Tayuya and what effects might it have on the future? Who is the mysterious figure Danzo was plotting with (no, it wasn't Orochimaru or an OC)? What will become of Anko? How will the rest of the world react to Naruto's banishment? What did Jiraiya's message to Tsunade say? What were Kyuubi's upgrades to the kekkei genkai, and what were her true motives for doing so? What will Naruto find in the pre-filled regular storage scroll Koharu gave him (not the one from the Yondaime, the other one that was pre-filled with stuff)? All these questions and more will begin to show their answers in the next chapter of 'Banished with a Bloodline'. Please Read and Review... and any suggestions are appreciated, even if I choose not to use them they can still inspire other ideas in my head.

As another note, I have a poll up on my profile. If you haven't already seen it and voted, please do so, but remember one thing: even if I take up another story, _this_ story will remain my main focus until it is finished. If you have voted, please go and vote again, as I've removed the old poll and replaced it with a new one, since more options are available on it now. On a similar note, If you could tell me which pairing you would prefer and if I should stick with one girl only or go for two for Naruto in this fic. If you name any of the 'Konoha girls/women', you'd have to tell me how you'd think that would work out before I'd consider it, though, since Naruto _is_ banished from there. Also note that Sakura and Hinata are not up for the pairing - Hinata because her clan would probably kill her before she got out the gate if she went to go to be with Naruto or got herself banished, and Sakura because she's going to see Naruto as more of a little/big brother than a potential love interest.

One last note: this is the second to last major 'explanatory chapter' where you have to listen to my characters give long winded explanations for how things work, one thing after another. There will still be explanations (character A explains the plan to character B for how to sneak into the building to steal this or that), but not to the extent of the first four chapters with having most of each chapter have large sections of paragraphs explaining one thing. That should end after the next chapter for this fic, a fact you can all probably feel happy for.


	4. 4a - Starts

**Disclaimer:** I do not own. Please do not sue.

**Opening A.N.:** Two things to say about the pairings for this story. This will not be a NaruSaku story (nothing against it, just in this story they are going to be more like friends close enough to consider each other family) and it also will NOT be a NaruSasu story (check my profile to see why I don't read/write yaoi). That having been said, I'll save further notes for the end of the story and get to the story itself. Read and enjoy!

**Edit:** Pairing has been decided, but I'll don't want to spoil the surprise for all of you regarding what it is.

Last Chapter

_**'I can't quite shake the feeling there's something I've forgotten here... but it must just be that I haven't needed to do something like this in a very long time. The seal and handseals have been made perfectly, so everything should work just fine.'**_ Kyuubi pondered

The whole room glowed with an eerie red light, coming from the seal and from the two tails of youkai that were coming out of Naruto's stomach, directly from the Shiki Fuuin. Those two tails seemed to stab into Tayuya, who merely winced in discomfort at the sensation. It was like being in a shower with the water just a tiny bit too hot for comfort. As the seal ran its course, the core of Tayuya's body began to glow with a bright light blinding Naruto so that he closed his eyes and forcing Tayuya herself to close her eyes if she didn't want to lose her eyesight.

In the Hidden Base of Otogakure no Sato

Orochimaru sat rigid for a moment, catching the attention of Kabuto, who was with him to make certain that he recovered from his recent switch of bodies as quickly as possible, as well as Sasuke and the jounin who was training him before Orochimaru recovered enough to do so personally.

"Is something the matter, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked, preparing to do a diagnostic jutsu to determine if something was going wrong with the new body.

Orochimaru waved away Kabuto's glowing green hand with a laugh. "Kukuku... it seems Tayuya-chan _survived_ for longer than we thought. I just felt something forcefully break the curse seal I placed upon her. What's more... the only way that would work was if she willingly allowed someone to remove it from her. You know what to do, Kabuto."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto left the room to inform the Oto special hunter nin unit that Tayuya was alive and had willingly broken her bonds with Otogakure no Sato. Such a high security risk member would require an immediate and violent extermination before she could go spreading the secrets of Orochimaru's.

Sasuke looked on, unsure of how to respond to the fact that he had just heard that it was, in fact, entirely possible to remove the curse seal. He was afraid someone might do so to him, stunting his power, but also found some hope that he could get it removed before Orochimaru could take his body over.

At the Great Naruto Bridge

Kanaye Yamamoto and his two partners arrived just in time to feel the wave of youkai radiating from Nami no Kuni. It gave them pause in their chase of their master's future puppet to feel the power of a biju. They had met up with each other when Yamamoto came back from following one of the false paths to the point of divergence. The woman had been able to figure out the true path the group they were following had taken, and Yamamoto had filled the two in on what had happened since he last saw them while they were chasing the group down.

Now realizing that there was either a biju in human form or a jinchuuriki involved, they decided to send Yamamoto to inform Sasori of the full depth of the situation as well as ask for help or orders for the now more complex problem. Seeing as he could literally fly to and back from Sasori-sama's location.

Chapter 4, Part 1

Naruto and Tayuya's Room at the Inn

As the brilliant burst of light faded, Naruto heard Tayuya's voice, "Get the hell over here and help me get these fucking splints off so I can move!" Naruto jumped to his feet at the same moment his eyes popped wide open.

"H-hai, Tayuya-chan!" Naruto moved down to Tayuya's ankles and began undoing the bindings on the splints from there while Tayuya was doing the splint's bindings closer to her body. He was concentrating on keeping his eyes near her ankles because he knew if he looked at her again, his voice would get lost in his throat and his brain would shut down. Between the bronze tone to her skin and her wilder hair, Tayuya had gone from 'cute tomboy' to 'beautiful...' in his mind, and he was still trying to process it.

**" 'Beautiful...', huh? That's only about five levels below the 'dead sexy' you thought I was when you thought I couldn't hear your thoughts."** The voice of Kyuubi teased in his mind.

Naruto was stuck between going pale with mortification or shining like a red beacon with embarassment. After a few seconds of struggling with his body's decision of how to react and thinking along the lines of 'at least it can't get much worse, right?', Naruto was made to realize he'd stopped moving at Kyuubi's words.

"Fuck nut? Any reason you stopped and your cheeks are on fire?" Tayuya's voice was accusing, and the next words out of her almost had a growl-like quality to them. "Not having perverted fantasies starring me, I hope?"

Naruto's head snapped up to meet her eyes, his own wide again. "NO! It's _not_ like that!" _'Shit! What do I say? What do I- I got it!'_ Naruto gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck as he gathered himself. "Right before the seal did its work, Kyuubi said something was gnawing at the back of her mind, like something she forgot or something. Just now she said she wanted me tocheck the curse seal to be certain it's gone like it's supposed to be, and when I questioned her on her earlier certainty in that technique we just used, she said some... things that freaked me out, y'know?" _'Pleaseletherbuyitpleaseletherbuyitpleaseletherbuy it...'_

At Tayuya's calming face, Naruto let out the breath he'd been holding. "Fine..." Turning her back to him, Naruto wondered what she was doing, until she let the top slide down halfway to her butt - and despite how much skin she was showing, _all_ of Naruto's attention was focused on the bizarre seal now covering most of her back.

_'What The Fuck? Kyuubi, are you seeing this?'_

**"Yeah. Now I remember what I forgot... and I know what it did, too."** Kyuubi's voice was subdued, seeming a little depressed over it.

_'Well?'_ Naruto's thoughts were on the angry side.

**"I forgot about the supression seal over the curse seal and how it would react to the seal we were trying to perform,"** Kyuubi paused.

"What's fucking going on back there? I've heard corpses louder than you."

"Sorry," Naruto said, "I'm conversing with _her_ about what's happened."

"What's happened?"

"Yeah. Apparently she _forgot_ to factor the suppression seal over your cursed seal when she was making the seal array up, and now you've got this really big seal on your back and I'm waiting on her to tell me how this'll effect you."

Tayuya looked... pissed, Naruto decided. Her mouth was moving and no words were coming out.

**"Actually, this seal will effect both of your lives..."**

"WHAT?! How does this seal effect me too?" Tayuya looked at him strangely at the shout.

**"Repeat what I say so you won't have to explain it to her later..."**

"Alright..." Naruto paused for a minute before speaking again, "She says that because she didn't take the suppression seal into account when making our seal array, parts of the curse seal still exist in you. Kyuubi wants to know whether you want the good news or the bad news first, Tayuya-chan." Naruto stared at Tayuya, waiting for an answer.

Turning back to him, as she'd allready pulled her shirt back up and closed the front, Tayuya answered, "the good."

Naruto waited a moment before talking, "Orochimaru's bond with you and the seal _is_ fully severed, the seal's corruption of your mind has stopped and will heal over time, and this seal won't burn through your energy like crazy." He paused before continuing, "the bad news is, the seal is now dependent on Kyuubi's energy and the only way for you to go on living is if we periodically refill its stores of the stuff. She said that you could go 'fully level two' if needed at the cost of burning through its stores of her youkai faster, thus needing a refill much sooner. She says if it's not pushed to level two, a full charge should let you go for about a week and a half before you'd _have to_ get a refill. So it looks like we're stuck together from now on."

"Fuck me..." Tayuya's voice sounded small and broken, then she gave a hollow laugh. "That's probably what you did this for anyway."

"What?"

"Well, isn't it?" Tears were moving down her face, and she screamed the words, "ISN'T IT? I thought you might be different, I thought... I was a fool."

"Tayuya-ch-"

"Don't call me that!" If he were of a more analytical mood at the moment, Naruto would wonder how such a small voice could speak in such a harsh and sharp tone without upping the volume.

"Fine, Tayuya... this isn't my fault. I just did what Kyuubi said, I didn't think..."

"Yeah. Neither of us thought, did we? We trusted a fucking kitsune..."

Both of them sat there, lost in thought for a few minutes before the lock on the door clicked off and Jiraiya stepped in.

"Hey." Jiraiya said it softer than he usually spoke, and combined with the knowledge of roughly when he left Tazuna's and how far he had to travel to get here, Naruto came to a quick conclusion.

"So how much did you eavesdrop on?"

Smiling a bit, and hoping to lighten the mood in the room, Jiraiya said, "Enough to hear her comment on your 'cheeks being on fire'. You know, for a girl who made it clear to me last night she had no romantic or sexual interest in you, she sure didn't hesitate to tell you she thinks your ass is _hot_."

The grin on Jiraiya's face as he said that was shit-eating, and the blushes on the other two's were nuclear, Tayuya's being more of anger and Naruto's of embarassment. "Ero-sennin!"

"You know," Tayuya grit out, "now that I can walk fine on my own maybe I should come over there and see how hard I have to kick 'em to make 'em fucking pop!"

Jiraiya grimaced, mentally clutching himself, before becoming serious again. "Naruto, there was a reason you should have had me here when you activated that seal. While I can't say for certain whether that wave of Kyuubi's energy could be felt _in_ Konoha, I know any patrol _between_ here and there _did_ feel it. If I was here I could have slapped a containment seal on the room and a hunter-nin wouldn't have been able to sense the energy from right outside the door. Konoha now either knows where we're at, or they will soon."

Naruto looked about ready to panic. "So, we can just leave here before they arrive," Tayuya said.

"One small problem." Jiraiya pointed his thumb at Naruto. 'The gaki here made a promise that requires we _be here_ in three weeks, and staying here in hiding would be way easier than leaving and having to sneak back in _while_ they're searching for us." Jiraiya dropped his thumb and kept talking, "since you're in travelling condition, we can sleep outdoors in the dense woods on one of the nearby uninhabited islands. Both of you pack your stuff up and henge so you're like we were when we came in. Tayuya, that means injured and riding on Naruto's back until we're out of sight of the village. I'll go pick up Sakura. You two meet us in civilian travel about 100 meters south of the southern village entrance, just before the path forks. We'll wait for you before circumventing the village and going to an uninhabited island to the northeast of here by ninja travel. None of us speak again until we get there, okay?"

When both of them silently nodded, he made a single-handed handseal, and the room flashed green before he left through the door. Belatedly, both realized he had just removed a privacy seal. As both moved to pack their bags, they both realized that they hadn't caught when he set it.

As he began to make sure he had everything he could get into his pack and scrolls, Naruto felt that nagging doubt and distrust in the back of his mind and heart grow a bit. He knew who it was for.

Alongside the Road Leading to Nami no Kuni

A squad of four ANBU, one trailing behind, bearing the 'Ne' mark, was moving through the trees alongside the path that led from the middle of Hi no Kuni to Nami no Kuni. Two of those individuals were quietly conversing as they tree-hopped towards the source of a wave of youkai that they'd felt roughly ten minutes ago.

"So, why exactly are we headed this way again? Shouldn't we be heading towards the target's last known location to pick up a trail?"

"Were you paying attention when the captain briefed us?"

"Yeah. So?"

"The target was last seen with Kakashi, who was with Jiraiya and Sakura. Kakashi returned to the village without any of the three, so it's a good possibility the target is with Jiraiya. Follow so far?"

"Yeah."

"Jiraiya was planning to meet up with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, so if Jiraiya isn't in Nami right now, odds are he will be soon. And if he's there-"

"-the target probably will be, too. I get it."

"You two," the squad captain appeared behind them. "I thought I said we're moving in silence." Both members stiffened, then gave silent nods. The captain reappeared tree-hopping in front of them.

Cavern Beneath a Mountain

In the darkness of the depths, at first there was nothing but the air. Then, one or a two at a time, they materialized, until there was nine of them. All they were was shadows, silhouttes with eyes and voices, but they were shadows of the strongest missing nin throughout the elemental countries. At the head stood a shadow with rings around the pupils of his eyes. He spoke, "The first opportunity of the harvesting of the biju has passed. It will be at least three years before we can seal up any more biju into the container, so try not to draw any unneccesary attention to us during that timeframe. For now you may do as you please as long as it doesn't interfere with the plan, but when those three years are up, be prepared to catch all remaining biju within a two year timespan. Is the order clear?"

"Hai, Leader-sama," the rest of the group chorused.

"Then it shall be three years before we meet again. Three years from today you shall receive your final assignments in regards to the biju. Zetsu, stay behind a moment. The rest of you can do as you wish for now."

All shadows save two faded away, leaving 'Zetsu' with 'Leader-sama'. "Leader-sama?"

"During this break, stay up to date as well as you can on the status and location of all remaining biju and jinchuuriki. Especially pay mind to the location and status of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, as he is no longer part of Konoha. All further information on him will have to come thru you as our spies in Konoha will no longer be of use to us in this regard."

"Hai, Leader-sama." 'Zetsu' seemed to absorb into the ground rather than fading away like the others, but when his waist passed below the rock of the cavern floor he also faded.

Finally the ring-eyed man, eyes much like an advanced form of Naruto's, faded from the empty cavern himself.

An isolated island near Nami's main island, an hour later

Jiraiya observed the scene around himself. They'd had Zabuza take them out to this uninhabited - by humans at least - island on his fishing boat that they'd met out on the water. According to Zabuza, there was a freshwater spring due north-northeast of the beach where he'd dropped them off - which he could actually smell from this distance - and wild animals did live on the somewhat triangular island. He thought he could hear a boar not too far into the semi-dense foilage that stretched all around this beach. Looking back away from the thick, Jiraiya saw Naruto hopping in place and waving wildly at Zabuza.

Just as he took a deep breath to call out to Zabuza in thanks, Naruto found Tayuya's hand over his mouth. Glaring daggers at her, and she could literally feel the scowl on his lips, he silently demanded an explanation.

"Hey, numbnuts, mind fucking ruining the idea of stealth just a little more. It's bad enough you're in fucking bright orange, waving wildly, now you want to make sure any of the fuckers we might have lost with the hellishly convoluted plan know _exactly_ where the fuck we are by bellowing across the water like a shit-fucking _foghorn_?"

Naruto was then shown what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a _real_ deathglare by a professional. Naruto felt the burning of shame inside, but did what he always did when confronted with that emotion, distract everyone by doing something childish.

"You did _not_ just fucking lick my palm!"

Jiraiya sighed, and gave a strong clap of his palms to get everyone's attention on himself before an actual fight broke out between them. The sharp sound of the clap covered Sakura's frustrated sigh at Naruto's childishness showing up again.

A minute later, Jiraiya had the group of young ninja sitting in a semicircle before him. "What should we do first, Jiraiya-sensei?"

Jiraiya frowned and spoke, "Didn't you learn about this in survival classes? Since I've already checked that the camp is secure from attack or spies, what comes next?" Here he sent a pointed look at Sakura.

"Um... since we'll be using this place for a while rather than for a single night, I think we're supposed to scout out the surrounding land and find any sources of food, fresh water, and shelter."

"A textbook response, but this isn't a textbook situation." Jiraiya sighed. Sakura gave him a confused look. "Sakura, the next thing we should do is check what supplies we all have and pool some of them. Seeing as Tayuya was a prisoner, I doubt she has any supplies and needs to borrow a _kunai_ at the very least. Also, I understand Naruto has a 'care package' in a storage scroll from Elder Koharu, and there may be some helpful supplies in it. Now's the best time to determine what all we have on hand."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously, "Eheheh... I sorta forgot about that." Pulling his backpack off and setting it down in front of him, an action that was copied by Sakura, Naruto started to pull storage scrolls out of his backpack. He was interrupted from opening any of them, however.

"EH?!" The other three looked at Sakura to see her holding a water balloon size stone in her hand, a bewildered look rapidly giving way to frustration. "I can't believe I forgot my backpack was filled with stones! Gah! I carried all the weight around for no reason!" Grabbing the pack on the sides near the bottom, she was about to up-end it when Jiraiya stopped her.

"I didn't say you were to stop using the weight, Sakura." Everyone looked at Jiraiya. "Your small chakra pool, low stamina, and lack of body strength and speed are all just as large a liability as being unable to think outside the box. The only time I want you to take off that pack is for sleep, taking a bath, or in a life-or-death situation. That's a direct order from your sensei, understand?"

"H-hai, sensei..." For a minute, the two sat staring at each other. When Jiraiya's stare turned to a disappointed glare, Sakura caught on to what he was waiting for her to do and slung her backpack back on.

"That's better." Sakura started pulling out the scrolls Jiraiya sealed her stuff in earlier as he continued. "Now, Tayuya-chan, do you have anything other than the clothes on your back?"

Tayuya grimaced. "Hell no, not even a fucking spare set of clothes or any fucking money."

"I thought not. We'll deal with that in a little bit. Now, I know without looking what all I have on me: two functioning telescopes, twenty-seven full outfits - seven of which are not everyday wear, a sizable variety of shinobi gear, a single-person all-weather tent, my sleeping mat, a week's supply of food and water emergency rations under preservation seals, a large amount of writing supplies, several copies of every book I've written so far, a number of maps, and all the money that isn't in my account right now."

Having unsealed everything Jiraiya sealed for her, Sakura went next. "I've got my sleeping bag, my two-person standard tent, a dozen outfits - only two not being everyday wear, some blank scrolls and writing stuff, a field-grade first-aid kit, six kunai, twenty shuriken, half a roll of standard ninja wire, thirty exploding tags, and my current life savings, about ten thousand ryo," she finished with a smile. Then with a clearing of her throat, she added, "and, ah, _hygeine_ products."

_'Sakura-chan brought soap and shampoo stuff, huh? Why'd she make a deal out of it?'_ Naruto thought.

_"Naruto-san... I don't think that's what Sakura-san meant by _hygeine_ products..."_ Kimimaro's voice popped into his head.

Realizing the others were looking at him expectantly while he was zoning out, Naruto decided to pretend he hadn't zoned out at all. "Without opening my 'care package', I've got all the furnishings and small applainces for an apartment, about thirty outfits, only two of which aren't my jumpsuits, a one-person tent, my sleeping bag, about a hundred each of kunai and shuriken-"

"What?!" Sakura barked. "What on earth possessed you to buy that many?"

"I didn't. Ever since I learned kage bunshin, I've had them go out once a week at night to the training grounds to gather anything left laying around by other ninja. Back to my stuff, I've got around twenty senbon, two kama, one big shuriken, a couple rolls worth of ninja wire, both standard and trip type, a lot of exploding tags, a couple stink and paint bombs that never got used in my pranks, and two or three smoke bombs. Plus my own life savings, roughly four thousand ryo." Naruto paused for a second, before saying, "oh yeah! Can't forget my ramen supply or cooking utensils." As Naruto said this, he patted the scroll labeled 'Food from Heaven', all the while a mega-watt grin dominated his face.

Jiraiya palmed his face, Sakura's eyebrows developed a twitch, and Tayuya stared incredulously at Naruto. _'Don't comment. We don't want to argue over the value of ramen all day.'_ Jiraiya thought. Out loud he said, "moving along, why don't you open the scroll from Koharu?"

"Ah... right." Naruto opened the scroll and rolled it out until five large seals and a line of kanji was visible. Underneath each seal was a label, and these five labels were 'Gear', 'Survival', 'Help', 'Train', and 'Knowledge'. The line of kanji said 'Open Knowledge first. It has a list of all the contents of this scroll.'

Reading the directions, Naruto slapped the seal labeled 'Knowledge' while shoving chakra through his hand. With a poof of chakra smoke and a light popping sound, under Naruto's hand there was now a small box and a scroll. Picking up the scroll first, Jiraiya opened it and began to read aloud.

_Hello, Naruto._

_This scroll is the contents scroll of the whole big storage scroll, so try not to lose it or destroy it, okay? And if you're feeling guilty that I put so much money towards you, don't. I charged it all to the village through some channels that only the Hokage, Homura, and myself are currently privy to._

_In the Knowledge seal: this list (obviously), and a box with three scrolls in it. The scroll with the red trim in the box contains a list of contact information for people who act as middle men for wandering-nin looking to get missions so they can pay the bills. The scroll with the blue trim in the box contains a list of various people - and their last confirmed location - who help wandering-nin out with ninja supplies, i.e. smiths, forehead protectors/ANBU-style mask makers, shinobi suppliers, etc. The scroll with the green trim is a list of who was for and against you in the Council chambers, so that if you receive any contacts from Konoha, you can have an idea of who all you can trust._

_In the Train seal: a set of scrolls on chakra control, form manipulation, and elemental manipulation exercises, a dozen elemental affinity papers (the instructions for these are in the elemental manipulation exercises scrolls), and several D-rank and C-rank jutsu scrolls. The reason I give you so many elemental affinity papers is two-fold. It's possible to gain secondary affinities later in life for one, and for the other reason, well, I've heard of how you seem to draw people to yourself. If they join paths with you, feel free to share the gift, eh?_

_The Help seal contains 5,600 Ryo. Use it wisely until you've managed to find ways to make an income._

_In the Survival seal: a preservation storage scroll filled with a month's supply of various foods, a full canteen, and a standard three-person tent._

_Finally, in the Gear seal: five standard ninja uniforms - one each for snow, forest, plains, rocky terrain, and urban nights; three rolls of ninja wire - one standard, one razor, and one trip; a full set of various ninja pills - food, blood repleneshing, chakra replenishing, and soldier; two standard-grade katana; a field-grade first-aid kit; and two ninja cloaks - one black and one a dark, almost-not-a-color, grey._

_Well, that's everything. The only other thing I can give you are Homura's and my prayers for your safety and good fortune._

_Koharu_

Closing the letter, Jiraiya looked at Naruto when he spoke. "Well, now we all know what we have as a group. Naruto, you'll be responsible for most of Tayuya's supplies, as she's your responsibility, but me and Sakura will worry about clothes for her, seeing as your jumpsuits will be too short." Naruto's face twitched at the comment about his height. "Although she'll probably be able to use you ninja uniforms, since Koharu probably got ones you'll be able to grow into so they'll be a few inches too big for you now. They should fit Tayuya just fine." Naruto's face twitched again, causing Tayuya to snicker.

Naruto shot a glare at Tayuya, to which she responded by rolling her eyes and saying, "get fucking over yourself, ya fucking runt. Until you grow a little, every fucking person is going to see you as the little short gaki."

"Naruto, she's right. You've got to desensitize yourself to insults, or even insulting facts. If an opponent can rile you up, they can make you make a mistake. Those kind of mistakes get you and your friends killed. That's why a good shinobi doesn't show any weaknesses on a mission. I suggest you practice that while it's safe to do so, here, rather than out in the field. Naruto, set out what supplies you're giving to Tayuya from your own and from the scroll from Koharu. Sakura, see if you have a battledress or two you can stand to part with for now. Tayuya, come over here, I've got something to ask you to do."

As Naruto began pulling things out of storage scrolls to divy up and Sakura got a thoughtful look on her face as she considered parting with a few outfits, Tayuya walked over to the man, who had turned to face the other way. "What is it, ya fucking perverted goat-fucker? I ain't doing no fucking 'favours' for you, either."

"Nothing like that, Tayuya-_chan_," Jiraiya was practically whispering, and Tayuya found herself leaning in to hear. "I want you to push Naruto. Insult him until just before he's ready to blow and then back off, then repeat once he cools down. I don't want you to ease up on him until you can no longer seem to get a rise out of him. All kind of insult are fair play except one. Don't go near referring to him as being the same as what he contains." Seeing her raise an eyebrow, Jiraiya decided to explain. "He can deal with that from enemies or strangers, but from someone who already accepted him as himself, that would be the worst form of betrayal. You'd be lucky if he took the hatred for that to his grave. Given that you are somewhat dependent on him to live, you'd be signing your own death certificate with that line of insults."

Turning back to the group, they saw Naruto sitting cross-legged and with his arms crossed, sitting behind a few small, organized piles of stuff with a sour frown on his face. Sakura had added three of her regular outfits to the piles of stuff in front of Naruto. Looking at the piles, Tayuya counted forty-five kunai, fifty shuriken, twenty senbon, both his kuma, a small pile of exploding tags, a roll of standard ninja wire, a smoke bomb, the forest, plains, and urban night ninja uniforms, a katana, three of Sakura's outfits, the still-in-package three-person tent, and the black ninja cloak. "So, fucknut, this is my fucking stuff, huh?"

With a single nod, Naruto said, "yeah."

As she reached out to grab up the piles, Jiraiya spoke, "Naruto. Create about a hundred or so kage bunshin and have them scout this entire island for things like sources of fresh water, food, or any natural shelter they can find. All of us have things to discuss while they're looking around."

There was a huge poof of chakra smoke, followed by an army of orange splitting up to search the island. Looking at Tayuya, Naruto saw she had simply laid the piles of her stuff to the opposite side of her compared to him. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out an empty scroll and tossed it to her, saying, "for storage," when she looked at him questioningly.

"Right." Everyone's attention came back to Jiraiya, who continued as soon as he had all their attention. "We need to discuss your training schedules for the next three weeks while we're on this island. First, I need to ask Naruto to pull out two of his elamental affinity papers, for Sakura and Tayuya. I already know my affinities and Naruto's affinities are known - due to his eyes - to be all five and then some."

As Naruto went to unseal the 'Train' seal from Koharu's scroll, talk drifted between the four about what they needed or wanted to train in.

Middle of Nowhere, Tsuchi no Kuni

On top of a plateau in Tsuchi no Kuni, there was a sizeable house hidden under a very strong genjutsu that was kept up by a large fuuinjutsu, and there were only two reliable methods to see the house from outside the genjutsu. Either possess a powerful doujutsu capable of seeing through such illusions, or be one who bares the 'Enslaved Mind Seal' of the owner of this house - Akasuna no Sasori.

One such creature was gliding down to the ground in front of the house. It bore tremendous bat-like wings, the wingspan of which was three times greater than the length of its torso, which was close to six and a half feet long. The torso itself was similar to a dog's in shape, although with the wings replacing the forelegs and talons on the feet, presumambly so it swoop down and scoop up its prey. It's head was eyeless and streamlined, shaped almost like a beak made of flesh. All its skin was a discolored shade of tan mixed with green, blotches all over it.

Having landed, there was a flare of chakra, and a large cloud of chakra smoke surrounded the creature. Before the smoke disapated, the form of Yamamoto stepped out of it and began walking quickly towards the front door of the house. Smearing some blood across the handle so it would let him in without killing him with the traps, he hurried into the house to the room he knew his master favored most, the puppet workroom.

Yamamoto stopped outside the door to the workroom, and knocked twice. After hearing his master's "Enter.", he opened the door quietly and walked in about three feet.

"Sasori-sama." Yamamoto was down on his knee, face towards the ground behind Sasori's back.

Sasori didn't even bother looking up from his workbench to his loyal minion behind him. "Yamamoto. Why are you here so soon? Didn't you get the message I'd be there in a month?"

"Sasori-sama... there's been a few... complications with your plan."

"Oh?" Despite the emotionless face he bore, Sasori sounded like he was getting irritated.

"I apologize. The origin of these complications is entirely my fa- gh!"

Sasori had spun around and was crushing the throat of the larger man. "I don't care about your apologies. Quit beating around the bush and tell me what's wrong. You _know_ I hate being kept waiting."

Yamamoto gasped for breath as Sasori dropped him and stared at him. "huh - The girl got taken - huh - ambushed by Sharingan - huh - no Kakashi - huh - and unknown individual - huh."

"So... you're telling me she's in Konoha now?"

"No... for whatever reason, when I tracked them down after they left me for dead - huh - they'd taken her to Jiraiya of the Sannin - huh - in the fields of Kome no Kuni (1), and I followed them - huh - to Nami no Kuni, waiting for an opening to get her back - huh - but we, the three of us, just found out... there's someone else in the group they're moving in... he or she is either a jinchuuriki or a biju in human form. We decided I needed to report to you to get further directions, since this complicates things. If it's a jinchuuriki and we kill it trying to get the girl, that'll cause you worse problems than not getting the girl at all. What shoul we do, Sasori-sama?" Yamamoto didn't mention what would happen to Sasori's three underlings if it was an actual biju in human form. It was obvious.

"This is a complicated situation. Leader-sama has just announced that we are to hold off on drawing attention to ourselves for the next three years and not harass the jinchuuriki or the biju in that time either... Simply keep an eye on this group, and if an opportunity to capture the girl without confronting the demon or the Sannin comes up, take it. In the meantime, observe the group's skills and avoid making contact with them. Keep notes, as I'll be expecting the report in three years. If you can figure out who it is, keep an extra close eye on this 'demon' and his or her capabilities so when it does come time for the catch we'll know what we're going into..."

Taking the silence that followed as an end to the order, Yamamoto turned to depart, changing back to the form of his winged beast-self. Taking off to head back to his partners, he left behind a contemplative puppet master. "Hmm... I should tell Leader-sama that he doesn't have to worry about watching whichever of the jinchuuriki or biju is in Nami..." Turning back to his workbench with his latest human puppet unfinished on it, Sasori decided talking to the Leader could wait a couple days.

Next Morning, Konohagakure no Sato, Office of the Hokage

Tsunade stared at the piles of paperwork stacked above her head on the Hokage's desk, and yet again she wondered why she was still here. "Tsunade-sama." Shizune drew her attention to where Shizune stood, next to her chair.

"What is it, Shizune?" While not always chipper in the morning, Tsunade's tone held a strong undertone of bitterness to it that Shizune had gotten used to hearing during their 'wandering days'.

Hoping to distract her mentor from her depressing thoughts, Shizune decided to ask a question that had an equal chance both to improve or deteriorate her mentor's mood. "What _did_ Jiraiya's letter say?"

The corners of Tsunade's mouth twitched upward as she said, "Three sentences. Naruto has the same eyes as the Rokudo Sennin, so he'll be training him as a service from the ninja nations to the family of the man who made them. That he has sent letters to the leaders of various countries regarding what has happened to Naruto due to the Council of the Leaf, mainly those that Naruto has had a profound impact on, but also the Great Five's leaders. And last of all... that he wished he could see the look on those 'Council bastard's' faces when I tell them all this." By the end of her statement, Tsunade wore a grin the devil would be proud of. "Which reminds me. Shizune, schedule a full council meeting for, oh say, two days from now, first thing in the morning."

"Why wait two days, Tsunade-sama?" Looking at her mentor's face, Shizune stumbled out a, "I-I m-mean, if you d-don't mind me as-asking?"

"By then, those letters should either have been received by their parties, or be well enough on their way that _Danzo_ couldn't stop them from being received."

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune looked worried at this. "What is being done about Danzo and ROOT?"

"Nothing can be done. We'd need hard evidence or to find their actual headquarters. We can't even have ninja be looking for their headquarters, because Danzo would just have the Council calling it 'a waste of valuable resources in a time of need'. So until we can get a break or some kind of solid lead, we'll just have to watch for an opening." Tsunade was once again down, glaring at the piles of incomplete paperwork that she _swore_ grew at least two inches while she wasn't looking.

With Naruto's Group, Around the Same Time

Spread out in different areas of the island, Naruto and his friends were training under Jiraiya. On a tree near the middle of the island, Sakura, watched over by one of Jiraya's Kage Bunshin, was making her way slowly up a tree - hands flat against the trunk, body parallel to the ground, and her backpack full of stones held between her thighs. Sweat was already glistening on her body, even before the morning dew had any chance to evaporate, and for a brief moment, her knees dipped. Without saying anything, the clone of Jiraiya's picked up a decent sized rock and added it to her pack. Sakura scowled, though more at herself than the clone, for the price of a moment's weakness she was beginning to understand.

Meanwhile, on the sheer rock face nearby, another of Jiraiya's Kage Bunshin was sitting next to Tayuya, heckling her struggling form. "Come on, you weak pansy. Is that all you can do? Is this how far you can go?" The only thing that kept Tayuya from verbally lashing out at that moment, was that she needed all the air in her lungs for something else. Climbing a sheer rock face, not allowed to use her feet or any chakra, she never would have believed it was this _'fucking difficult'_ just to scale a _'hellishly tall piece of shit'_. Her arm muscles twitched in protest as she continued to force herself to the next handhold, where her hand cramped into the tiny crevice.

In a small clearing on top of that same rock face, ten of Naruto's Kage Bunshin sat in a semi-circle in front of one of Jiraiya's, paying him rapt attention as he showed them the handseals for the Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu.

On three beaches around the island, there was a total of ninety more of Naruto's Kage Bunshin separated into groups of thirty, with two groups were a Kage Bunshin belonging to Jiraiya and the real Jiraiya was with the last group. Jiraiya and his Kage Bunshin were showing Naruto's Kage Bunshin how to mold earth elemental chakra and manipulate it to turn leaves into dust, the first stage of earth elemental manipulation.

Back at the group's campsite, Naruto sat with five pebbles and a kunai, still working on his next chakra control exercize. With a yelp, Naruto cursed Jiraiya for not letting him learn with six pebbles instead.

Mizu no Kuni Capital, Audience Room of the Diamyo of Mizu no Kuni

An old, thin woman sat in the wooden 'throne' of the diamyo on a dias, her aged gaze angled slightly downward at the younger woman at the base of the dias. The old woman's light gray hair hung in semi-limp ringlets, with a touch of frizz. Her robes were of fine, deep blue silk, but were worn and showing it in some spots. Unfortunately, after the last Mizukage started his bloodline purge war, the clan with six arms stopped using their spiders to provide the invaluable silk that offered such great protection and got the hell out of the country. Those that survived the initial purge, anyway.

The younger woman sat in a perfectly still half-lotus position, waiting for her diamyo to tell her why she was summoned. The blonde had been Mizukage for only six months, roughly the same amount of time the woman before her had been diamyo of the country, and was busy trying to restabilize Kirigakure no Sato from the recently ended civil war, just as the old woman before her had to do with the rest of their country. Both knew interruptions were unwelcome in an unstable time like this, so she wondered why her diamyo had called her here despite knowing this.

Around the room stood two dozen armed guards, all completely still and hyper aware of the slightest movement in the room. Four feet to either side and behind the young Mizukage stood three of the diamyo's honor guard, ninja who were pulled straight from the academy and raised and trained to believe the diamyo's safety was their purpose of existence. Two feet on the diamyo's left, three-quarters of the way up the dias, kneeled a young girl with a puppet leg, whose sole job was to carry items between the diamyo and her audience or to inform the room of what a document said. She was basically there so the diamyo never risked contact poisoning from a document or a trap going off in the diamyo's face when a chest was first opened.

On a silent signal from her diamyo, the girl stood and brought an unsealed scroll to the Mizukage.

Taking the scroll, the Mizukage turned her brown eyes to her diamyo.

"Tell me about this 'Six Paths Sage', and why we should allow this supposed descendant of his into our country like that scroll requests?"

The Mizukage's eyes widened momentarily before she could recompose herself, though only the old lady diamyo and the honor guards on the sides noticed it.

With Naruto's Group, Around the Same Time

Having just finished a silent lunch - everyone was hungry from training - Naruto and Jiraiya remade their Kage Bunshin and went to continue their tasks in training, although this time the real Jiraiya went with Sakura, as he'd need more chakra to use for her training. Naruto himself was frustrated at having made so little progress on his chakra control exercise, not even half a millimeter of true progress yet.

Jiraiya's Kage Bunshin that went with Tayuya had gone to a stream to sit near for the lesson he was about to give. As Tayuya and him sat cross-legged, the Kage Bunshin pulled a scroll labeled 'Forming Medically Attuned Chakra' from his back pouch. "So, Tayuya-chan, what do you know about medically attuned chakra?"

Tayuya's bit her tongue about the 'chan'. "I'd guess it's some kind of universal elemental chakra manipulation trick. I don't really fucking know much about it. Never planned to fucking learn it, and Oto had its share of hellish med-nin, so I didn't fucking need it before. Though I look forward to learning the chakra scalpels." This last was said with a wicked grin - and a glare at Jiraiya's crotch, for good warning.

Jiraiya winced, resisting the urge to go to cover with his hands, and frowned. "So you know nothing about it, then."

"Fuck, what?"

"First, chakra scalpels are a form manipulation jutsu. They require high chakra control and take very little chakra to maintain. The technique is used in combat by med-nin so much because it allows them to preserve more of their chakra for healing than flashier attack jutsu and they already would have the required chakra control anyway."

Tayuya shrugged and nodded. _'That makes sense, but I don't really care much besides the fact that I'll need more control to learn to use the chakra scalpels.'_

"Second, forming medically attuned chakra is utterly different than both elemental nature manipulation or form manipulation. The difficult part of forming medically attuned chakra is that, while it can be gentle, it is never subtle. So, unlike genjutsu, the target's own chakra recognises its presence and will try to fight it. Correctly forming medically attuned chakra means making your chakra resonate in such a way that it convinces your target's chakra that its presence is a good thing, rather than something to be fought, resisted, and rejected every step of the way."

Catching the scroll Jiraiya tossed at her, Tayuya could only think, _'Well, fuck. This is going to be fucking difficult.'_

Sakura was sweating intensely and about ready to pass out, despite having spent very little time doing anything more physically intense than sitting since lunch. This was her third failure since Jiraiya started this 'strategy training'. She had finally gotten one of his clones, the earth clone, but only at the cost of all three of the clones he'd provided her. He'd originally formed six clones, two each of earth, water, and shadow, and assigned one of each to her command, while keeping the other three for his own.

Then he laid down the rules of the game - each of them would sit facing each other at 50 yard apart - the length of the longest inshore clearing on the island - and the only actions they would take would be to give instructions to their clones or look around without moving from their spot. The goal was for one of her clones to touch the real Jiraiya without letting any of his clones touch her.

The first failure, she ordered the Kage Bunshin to guard her and the other two to go for Jiraiya. Two of Jiraiya's clones engaged her two, and while the earth clones were evenly matched, it was Jiraiya's shadow clone that mowed down her water clone and kept coming. She reflexively ordered the Kage Bunshin near her to intercept Jiraiya's, and as soon as they were engaged, she felt Jiraiya's Mizu Bunshin touch the back of her neck. She had lost sight of it while focusing entirely on the two pairs fighting in front of her.

The second failure, she ordered all three to guard her. Then a staring contest from fifty yards away took place. After fifteen minutes, Sakura cracked under the pressure and ordered an all out assault. The two groups of clones wiped each other out.

This time, she had tried to micro-manage the Kage Bunshin while giving the other two clones general orders based on formations she remembered studying in her days as an academy student.

"Sakura..." Jiraiya sighed after her name. It sounded like frustration mixed with a touch of pain.

"H-hai, Jiraiya-sama?"

"I'm a bit insulted that you think I, or my clones, wouldn't be perfectly familiar with those formations. In case you forgot, I've _lived_ through virtually every strategy in the Konoha books during the Second Great Shinobi War."

"What's the point of pitting myself against someone who knows every strategy I've ever read about?" Sakura sulked.

"To get you to come up with strategies not found in any books. Or did you forget that I'm trying to get you to think outside of the box you've made around yourself?"

"But how many enemies would know the same strategies I'm using?" Sakura looked frustrated now.

"Kumo, Iwa, and Oto-nin for certain. The first two because they remember from being on the other end of those strategies during said war, and the third one... well, who do you think was surviving all those strategies right alongside me?"

That brought Sakura's complaining attitude to a screeching halt.

"Uchiha Itachi was a prodigy, so he'd know all of them - even the ones only ANBU captain-level clearance will get you allowance to see. If he's given the information to his 'buddies', you can add the whole of Akatsuki to that list. Also add any country that fought alongside us only for the duration of the war and then went nuetral, any clans of wandering-nin who witnessed the strategies in action and laid low until we were past them, and add in any ninja, clans, or villages that the any of the groups listed before were or are allied with or might have sold the information to. Those books are historical references, not for use in modern strategies except against non-ninja targets. You can use pieces of them and widely vary from there, but using them in whole will get you and your team killed."

He let Sakura sit in silence for the next fifteen minutes to digest that, then summoned six more clones to begin the exercise again.

Nami no Sato, Namii no Kuni - Front Counter of the Fisherman's Inn, Mid-evening

"Two of those people sound familiar. An old man in kabuki style clothes was here earlier, but he was with a woman and two girls, no boys, and none of them had pink hair. They left to go to a friend who was a doctor in the country. The poor little redhead dear had a make-shift splint on each leg..." the older woman told the young lady who came in looking for her elderly uncle.

The young lady smiled brightly. "Ah! I know exactly where they're going, then. Thank you so much, I thought I lost track of them in the last village!" After bowing in gratitude to the hostess, she bounced happily out the door and around the side of the inn into an alleyway. Where she promptly dropped her bubbly persona and dissappeared.

Five seconds later, three other visitors in the village disappeared around corners and reappeared in a clearing not too far from the village, where the young lady was waiting for them, all of their ANBU masks, with the 'NE' mark, already in place.

"Report," said the leader.

"I had a positive on at least the sannin, with three travelling companions, passing through here. One injured girl, one other girl, and a woman. Could be the expected group under henge, plus one unknown."

"Boar, start searching for chakra trails from all the exits of the village with a road. If you cannot find a trail from them, start searching the less used exits. If you cannot find anything still, we have an alternate point intelligence information indicates we can check for better direction."

The ROOT ANBU with the boar mask moved back towards the village, the other three matching his movement.

With Naruto's Group, Around the Same Time

Since the aftternoon, Naruto's kage bunshin had been dispelled and replaced three times, and Naruto had made a millimeter's progress (literally) on his chakra control exercise. The group had also eaten dinner together, and the real Jiraiya had pulled both Sakura and Tayuya off for a supervised spar - which meant that he would keep the fight even by throwing in kunai, shuriken, or the odd jutsu whenever one of the girls was about to gain a win, forcing them off balance enough to pull back their attack.

The fight wasn't entirely even, as Tayuya had taken her training seriously from a young age, but was an indirect fighter who was used to either using her summons or genjutsu to fight. Tayuya being unable to use her strengths, the fight was just even enough that Sakura could stand her ground well enough to learn from it, while Tayuya also learned to hold back enough in a fight to avoid counter-attacks.

With Naruto's Group, Later that Night

After training, the girls had gone through their cooldown exercises, and then Sakura had passed out in her tent. Tayuya took the time to go for a brief dip in the freshwater spring before joining her in her own tent, leaving Naruto and Jiraiya the only ones awake.

"Gaki." Naruto started at Jiraiya's voice, having been losing himself in gazing at the night sky. "Something's been disturbing you. You've had less focus than usual for you when you're training. What's

eating at you?" Jiraiya crossed his arms and gave a look that said 'We can be here all night, if that's what it takes.'

Understanding the pose and look, Naruto gave a huff and crossed his arms. After a few minutes of silence where the two had a staring contest, Naruto sighed and looked away.

"It's the Kyuubi." Jiraiya stiffened, and his stare got sharper on Naruto; before he could say anything, Naruto waved his hands in front of him, "Not like that! It's just... Since what happened with Tayuya, I don't know if I can trust her. Given she's even admitted to altering my kekkei genkai, not trusting her even a little is a really big deal. I'm worried about it."

"So you don't trust a majorly important source of information? Welcome to the world of real shinobi concerns, gaki." Seeing Naruto's jaw drop in flabbergast, Jiraiya continued. "I run a major part of Konoha's spy network. I have to be careful about trusting information from even the most reliable sources, and always check my information from as many angles and sources as possible before reporting any of it back. Listen, I want you, before you go to sleep tonight, to go into your mindscape and talk to Kyuubi and your other guest. Try and determine how much you can trust what you've already been told and what you'll hear tonight. That's all a good shinobi can do in your situation."

"Do I have to talk to her tonight?" Naruto whined.

"Gaki! If this issue isn't at least partially resolved tomorrow morning, I'll stop training you at all untill it's fully resolved!"

"What?! Why?" Naruto looked shocked and devastated at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya gave him a look to show how serious he was. "With you being this distracted, my training of you would take longer than if I selected a random student in the academy and tried to bring them up to that same level of skill. Unless you can shake off or resolve some of these concerns, my time would be wasted training you at all. And I have two other people here who can use the extra training, and actually get something out of it - which you won't if you let this keep holding you back."

"Fine! I'll do it right now!" Naruto thumped down, facing away from Jiraiya with a scowl with his arms crossed and his legs likewise.

"This is for your own good gaki." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair. "I'll take tonight's first watch while you meditate." Jiraiya faded into the shadowed undergrowth to start his part of the nighttime watch.

Naruto was able to gradually calm himself, and finally reached a point where he was calm enough to retreat to the point in his mind where he last saw Kimimaro and the Kyuubi.

Naruto's Mindscape

Naruto found himself in the passage of sewers once again, and he was quick to make his way towards her. She had a lot to answer to, and he had every intention of coming away from here with one of two things: all the answers to his questions or an absolute conviction that he could never trust her again.

In what seemed like no time at all, Naruto found himself in front of the cage. Looking to his left, he saw Kimimaro standing there waiting for him silently. Looking back forward, he saw the 'human' form of Kyuubi, her hair and fur dishevelled and her eyes rimmed with red.

"If you ever want me to trust you again, tell me this: what's the real _reason_ you decided to 'upgrade' the rin'negan? What are your real motives?" Kyuubi looked flustered by this, so Naruto decided to push a bit to gaurantee she didn't try to throw together a deception. "I already saw that tiny hint that you were hiding something when you told me you were doing this just for 'a little bit of freedom', so if you're going to tell me another half-truth or a lie, save your breath and save me the time of listening to it."

Giving a defeated sigh, Kyuubi decided to go ahead and elaborate. **"Alright, but since it won't make any sense if I jump straight to the main point, you'll have to bear with some background information."**

"What's the main point of your reason?"

**"The short version... is to save the world. The long version, is to save the world... from your father's half baked plan in regards to this seal."** She knew insulting his father was probably one of the worse things to do, given she was trying to regain his trust, but she also knew holding back right now might make him think she was lying.

Naruto looked boiled. "WHAT?"

**"Listen!"** The Kyuubi was relieved when Naruto stopped what would have doubtless been a rant followed by him storming off and never wanting to talk to her again. Though his glare was still quite heated. **"The seal was designed perfectly to do its job, and it does its job perfectly. The part he failed to consider in his rush to save the village he loved was the **_**end results**_** of it performing that job perfectly."** She could see he had calmed down enough to be spoken to in greater detail, but was getting impatient. **"There are two problem with his design of the seal in terms of the end results. The part of the seal that takes some of my chakra and uses it to increase your own capacity, and the speed at which it does so is based on the amount of chakra flowing through your coils. The problem with this, is there is no off switch. Most people's bodies have a 'maximum capacity' for chakra, where any more chakra than that would be dangerous to keep in them, so the coils of that person will stubbornly **_**refuse**_** to grow past that point. The seal overides that refusal, so your coils will grow and grow. By the time the seal finishes its job, between my regenerating rate of chakra and your natural chakra growth, your coils will be holding the equivelant to thirteen tails worth of chakra in a human body. Any spike in your your chakra greater than half-a-tail equivelant, and you'll explode like that 'exploding shadow clone' from back on the road."** Naruto looked horrified now. **"It gets worse."**

"It can get worse?"

**"Much. For starters, because when you blow up, rather than having maybe a quarter of a jounin's chakra reserves in it, like that 'exploding shadow clone' did, the explosion will be powered by more chakra than any of the **_**biju**_** have. The resulting explosion is likely to make a crater from the elemental countries, and the falling debris and force of winds moving outward from the explosion is likely to level what's left from the blast. Not only that, but the explosion will be enough to push the planet slightly out of orbit, so any survivors will be short-lived, as the planet will either move away from sunlight, killing all plants eventually, or into the sun, obliterating the world in flames. Then comes the other problem in the seal's design."**

"There's _more_?!" Naruto looked like he was going to start hyperventilating soon.

**"Yes. The other part of the seal that's a problem is this cage. It's formed from your chakra, specifically about nine tails equivelant that's stored in the seal. Once the seal finishes it's job, it will fade and those nine tails of chakra will surge into your coils. What did I say will happen if more than half a tail of chakra surged into you?"**

Naruto didn't answer, just stood pale and trembling, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Kyuubi waited patiently for everything she said to work its way down enough for him to think again. "Wait... if my bodies have the same amount of chakra as me..."

**"I know what you're thinking. Unlike you, there is nothing on those bodies that will allow them to override their 'maximum capacity', so they will stop growing with you once they reach that point."**

Naruto seemed to calm down at that, feeling relieved that his other bodies, if out when it happened, wouldn't make thing worse by exploding as well. Then he seemed to deflate significantly. "So how is what you're doing going to prevent this? You already told me you weren't going to look for full freedom from the seal, so it'll still run it's course if you don't get free..."

**"My plan has three parts, the first to delay and buy time for the other two, and the second to make the third possible at all. The third will solve the problem without invoking Shinigami's wrath."**

Naruto looked at her, his interest obvious on his face, then a thought occured to him. "You say 'buy time', which I take means there's already a serious time constraint to 'saving the world'. I also take that you know what the deadline is, since I doubt you would do this much if it would happen long after I was dead of old age..."

**"Yes, I know what the time constraint we're working with here, although the first part of my plan is variable in how long it will delay it. If you choose not to follow my plan, you'll be a couple months past your twenty-third birthday when you explode. The longer it is before the first part is completed, the less of a difference it'll make. If you meet the requirement of fully mastering eight different bodies to do this in as little of time as possible, the soonest you should be able to do that will be in... five years or so. If you do it right then, you won't have to worry about exploding until well after your fiftieth birthday. By comparison, if you waited until your twenty-second birthday to do the first step, you wouldn't add a full month to your time left."**

Naruto huffed. "Enough about this the time I have left, it would help if you could fill me in on what the plan is." He paused for a second. "And I mean the whole plan, not just the first part."

A sigh. **"Alright. The first step requires the so-called 'twins' of the Sound Four that you got earlier..."**

Kimimaro spoke up. "You mean Sakon and Ukon? What makes you say they aren't really twins?"

**"I recognise the kekkei genkai **_**he**_** carries. The two can't handle being separated from each other for even a full day, can they?"** After getting confirmation from Kimimaro, Kyuubi continued. **"He might have two separate minds because there is two separate brains that keep the memories and thought processes of the bodies separate, but there is a single soul between them. Too long spent away from each other, and the soul will lose it's grip on the bodies, and he will die. Those with that kekkei genkai will always be born with a 'siamese twin' attached to them, but it's really just another body and mind for the users to have. I could go into detail of how this gift came about, but it'd be long-winded and irrelevant to explaining this plan. Maybe some other time. The important thing to understand is that those two are one in reality, which is why they'll only count as one body and one soul when you use your kekkei genkai to 'revive' them."** Here she had gone back to addressing to Naruto. **"Remember how I said my gift would allow you to gain properties of virtually any body you've mastered?"**

Naruto nodded, and prompted her to continue with a gesture of his hand.

**"Well, there's more to it than simply 'bam, I gained some awesome abilities.' Once the fourth ring appears in your eyes, you'll be able to use an ability that'll let you either partially or fully absorb the properties of any body you've mastered, within certain bounds. However, there are limits and restictions on this, as well as downsides. For starters, the main difference between a partial and a full absorption are the costs and benefits of each. A partial absorption takes a bit less than half the time of a full one, will put the body you used it on out of commision with chakra exhaustion that takes twice as long to heal compared to normal, but will grant you some of the lesser properties of that body, provided that those properties are not less potent than ones you either previously absorbed or that they are not in conflict with your Rin'negan itself. For example, if you did a partial absorption on Kimimaro's body, the main benefit would be that your bones would increase to a density close to that of steel, but you wouldn't gain his kekkei genkai. Your physical features would also **_**very slightly**_** change to resemble those you've absorbed some. A full absorption would permanently obliterate the body it's used on, but grant you most all of the benefits of the body you absorbed, provided they aren't lesser than ones you've already absorbed or in conflict with the properties of your rin'neggan. In Kimimaro's body's case, you would gain his full kekkei genkai, and the changes to your physical features would be more noticable."**

"So how does this fit into the plan, and what's the 'twin' guy got to do with it?" Naruto asked.

Kyuubi smirked. **"The first part of the plan is that you'll fully absorb his 'body', gaining his kekkei genkai. This will cause a second body to form in you. Since you do not truly possess multiple minds, my mind will be able to move into the body, and since our souls are bound there won't be a conflict with how the kekkei genkai was meant to work."**

"WHAT? YOU THINK I'M GONNA JUST LET YOU OUT?!"

**"SILENCE!"** Naruto was stunned by her anger, so she continued before he got his wits back, **"I won't be truly free. Not only that, but virtually all my power would remain locked behind this seal, and what power I do have would be less than yours. My body, since it would be formed from yours, will be human and have human chakra. What little influence I have in its development will be used to guarantee it's my gender and looks like me, rather than being a carbon copy of you. On top of that, I'm used to using my kind of energy and a completely different kind of jutsu system, neither of which will work while I use this new body. I'll be forced to learn to do everything you already can, no matter what I'll always have less power than you, and I'll need to reenter your body periodically to survive. Also... I have a good reason for suggesting this, not just me being free."**

"Yeah? Well, let's hear it then!" Naruto was scowling at her with his arms crossed.

**"The part of the seal that siphons of my energy to increase the size of your chakra coils... it only keeps going while there's a consciousness inside the seal. Every time I 'step out' with that body, that part of the seal will grind to a halt, and the longer I spend outside, the longer it will take to get back to its previous speed once I come back in. Once I reach the point where I can spend a full twenty-four hours outside your body before I need to come back in to sleep for another eight, that part of the seal won't even be able to get back to full running power before I get back out again. Also... if I time it right, and 'step out' of the seal at the last second, when it finishes its job, I'll get to stay on with you in that second body instead of having my mind and soul ceasing to be."**

"All right, I guess I can buy that..." Naruto's scowl lessened until it became a nuetral expression, but he kept his arms crossed when he asked, "So what's the second part of your plan?"

**"The second part can actually be done one of two ways, but it relies on a clan living in a remote part of Kyoukai no Kuni. You can either convince them to help or use one of their bodies for this, but the first would be better for several reasons."** Here she paused and looked at Naruto for a minute, waiting until he was about to lose his patience before speaking again. **"This clan has a closely guarded gift: they can summon and command any summonable creature if they have a sample of life energy from either the same type of creature or the creature itself. Not only that, but if that type of creature doesn't exist on the summons plane, it will be pulled into existence. Because a number of summon clans owe their existence to this clan, all summons hold a deep reverence for the clan. The summon contracts were even created by them so others could summon the creatures. Upseting them by taking a corpse of a clan member without permission could a number of large reprecussions, among which would be the toads - and virtually every other summon - turning against you, not to mention the manhunt the clan would perpetrate against you."**

"Okay, okay. I get it. Ask nicely for their help first and foremost, ask for a corpse as a second-to-last resort." Naruto waved his one of his hands impatiently, as though motioning the conversation forward. "While the clan is impressive and all, what do we need them for?"

**"For the third part of the plan you'll need a special body - one that they'll hopefully willingly summon for you. Mine."** Naruto started to sputter and choke at this announcement. **"We'll allow them to have a tiny piece of my energy, and they'll be able to summon my corpse, which should be perfectly preserved as the body of a biju never decays. Then you just lift the eyelid and look into 'my' eyes, and you'll be able to add my body to your collection."**

Naruto stood, speechless staring and perfectly still, as his mind tried to comprehend what Kyuubi was implying.

**"Bear in mind, as my body is a true shapeshifter, and you definitely see yourself as a guy, my body will be male when you get it. Also, the 'only slightly better than your original body' rule applies to this body as well, and it'll be a good long while before my former body will have enough power to assume my massive kitsune form. And this body will have no human chakra, just youkai."**

"Alright, hold up. Just _why_ do I need your body?"

**"Naruto, can't you connect the dots of the picture I've given you?"**

Naruto just gave Kyuubi a confused look. Kimimaro seemed to catch on the instant Kyuubi mentioned needing her body, however.

"Naruto-san." Naruto looked at him. "Kyuubi's established that you will explode because no _human_ _body_ can contain so much chakra. She's made it clear that you can absorb valuable attributes from bodies you've mastered using her addition to your Rin'negan, and that this addition was vital to preventing your explosion of chakra. Most importantly of all, she's made it clear that you'll need her body to live. Laid out like this, can you see what is the end solution will be?"

Naruto paled as the thought process kicked in. A moment later, his finger was pointing at Kyuubi while his face was red and his lips were in a snarl. "You want me... to become a _demon_!?"

**"Half, actually. Both our bodies will become hanyou when you absorb my old body."** Seeing Naruto about to protest, Kyuubi shot him a glare. **"If you've got another solution, then let's hear it, gaki. Otherwise, accept your choices and make them. Give up being human, or be responsible for all that death and the destruction of this whole world, something only the worst of demons would love to brag about having accomplished."**

Naruto's fists were clenched tight, and his eyes were directed at his feet, the memories of all those people - looking at him, thinking of him, speaking of him as 'the demon brat' - warring with his desire to protect others from unecessary pain, as well as his own desire to live. Despite the inner war, all three present knew which side would win, and the tiny 'fine' from Naruto before he turned and left this part of his mindscape was hardly needed to confirm it.

Kyuubi fealt a tearing in her chest as she watched him hurry away, knowing that while she had his trust, she kept causing him pain every time she tried to help him. Healing him from his wounds in front of the villagers eyes - convincing them even further of what he was - damaging him with too much youkai in times of his stress, almost destroying his chances for even friendship with Tayuya because Tayuya now saw herself as being dependant on Naruto rather than an equal because she failed to consider the supression seal, and now this, forcing him to choose to become the thing he had always been accused of being. Her only comfort in this was knowing that it was for the best for him.

(1) = Kome no Kuni - Rice Country...

**Closeing A.N.:** What will happen with ROOT, Oto, and Sasori's underling trio all closing in on Naruto's island hideaway? How will the rest of the world react to Konoa's treatment of Naruto? What were Kyuubi's upgrades to the Rin'neggan, and what were her _true_ motives for doing so? All these questions and more will show their answers in the next part of chapter 4 of 'Banished with a Bloodline'. Please Read and Review... and your suggestions are appreciated, even if I choose not to use them they can still inspire other ideas in my head.

For those who were waiting, sorry for the extreme delay in posting this. There's a long list of things that went wrong and held me back on getting this up, and even then, this is only part one of chapter 4. A part of that is this is my fourth rewrite of the chapter meant to cover three weeks... I decided to cut my losses, and post this now rather than make people wait even longer while I finish rewriting the rest of chapter 4.

On other notes, in response to a couple reviews and PMs, I have this to say: ROOT is sneaky. That's a big part of what they do, even the symbol 'Ne', which is supposed to stand for 'Non-existant', reflects this. Danzo had them under his command for at least a sizeable portion of the Third's reign, and even though he may have known about them, he never _proved_ Danzo didn't follow his instructions to disband them. They're so sneaky that they've been operating inside a major ninja village for decades undetected, a village with Hyuuga with 360 x-ray vision and Inuzuka who can track by scent. So, yeah, they can sneak around Tsunade and Kakashi, neither of whom are anti-espionage experts.

Some were also confused about the number of bodies Naruto can have, so I'll simplify what was said in story for everyone. Naruto can and will get more than six bodies, but can only have six out at any one given time. And since he can summon them out by group, no group can be larger than six bodies. And no two bodies he has out at the same time can be connected to the same 'skill' or the same 'element'. And no two bodies he gets can have both the same 'skill' and 'element'.


End file.
